as in sacking
to let go from office, service, or employment
the boss will ax anyone who leaks company secrets
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Recent Examples of axing
More than a dozen are rumored to be on his shortlist for axing, after several more were voluntarily killed or amended to avoid the gallows.
—
Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 15 May 2026
Brendan McDermid | Reuters Amazon is axing its Rufus chatbot and making its Alexa assistant the centerpiece of its artificial intelligence shopping strategy.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 13 May 2026
Amazon has been laying off staff en masse this year, axing over 16,000 employees in 2026 so far.
—Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 2 May 2026
The city is also contemplating axing more than 94 vacant jobs.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026
The biggest headline in Europe this week was German airline Lufthansa axing 20,000 flights through October.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026
Membership perks are also changing, with the city axing unlimited play time for annual members and removing reserved tee times that were always set aside for several longstanding golf associations in the city.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
Of course, dozens of companies have been axing staff and restructuring for a digital future, which is perhaps the BBC’s biggest challenge.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Apr. 2026
Yet a critical number of Republican lawmakers – wary of the long-term consequences of axing the filibuster when a Democrat is eventually back in the White House – have taken a hard stance to defend it.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 17 Mar. 2026
Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 15 May 2026
Brendan McDermid | Reuters Amazon is axing its Rufus chatbot and making its Alexa assistant the centerpiece of its artificial intelligence shopping strategy.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 13 May 2026
Amazon has been laying off staff en masse this year, axing over 16,000 employees in 2026 so far.
—Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 2 May 2026
The city is also contemplating axing more than 94 vacant jobs.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026
The biggest headline in Europe this week was German airline Lufthansa axing 20,000 flights through October.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026
Membership perks are also changing, with the city axing unlimited play time for annual members and removing reserved tee times that were always set aside for several longstanding golf associations in the city.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
Of course, dozens of companies have been axing staff and restructuring for a digital future, which is perhaps the BBC’s biggest challenge.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Apr. 2026
Yet a critical number of Republican lawmakers – wary of the long-term consequences of axing the filibuster when a Democrat is eventually back in the White House – have taken a hard stance to defend it.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for axing
Verb
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Villa’s then sporting director Monchi reportedly attempting a straight swap of him for goalkeeper Emi Martinez last summer is a sacking offence (perhaps literally).—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
-
Giants linebacker Abdul Carter didn’t waste any time sacking his own quarterback.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
23 May 2026
Verb
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This is done by cutting back the growing tip of the trunk (called the central leader) during the first winter after planting and selectively removing side branches.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
30 May 2026
-
Some gardeners control the infestation by cutting the plants back or even removing them.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 May 2026
Verb
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The Browns entered the offseason looking for a replacement after dismissing Kevin Stefanski, and Schwartz quickly emerged as a leading candidate after overseeing one of the NFL's top defenses.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
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On May 20, an $850,000 settlement was reached in the case in exchange for dismissing the complaint, according to a news release by Terr’s organization FIRE, which represented Bushart.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Terr hopes that the settlements reached thus far will deter officials from firing or punishing employees for their speech moving forward, despite political pressure or online outrage.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
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The real estate heir went on to become a vocal advocate for firing former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — as well as controversial housing proposals, like a 50-year mortgage, that other GOP officials scoffed at.—
Shelby Talcott,
semafor.com,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
The owner, Tom Furrier, was retiring after 45 years, closing up shop, and selling off the last of his stock.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Twelve Democrats are competing to replace Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is retiring after five terms.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Instead of just releasing Mythos, which proved in testing to be adept at spotting security holes, Anthropic initially made the model available to 11 organizations, including Club names CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks .—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
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Since only female mosquitoes bite, releasing males wouldn't increase the biting populations.—
Kimberly Miller,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Axing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/axing. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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