A tool with a bladed, usually heavy head mounted crosswise on a handle, used for felling trees or chopping wood.
Any of various bladed, hand-held implements used as a cutting tool or weapon.
Informal A sudden termination of employment: My colleague got the ax yesterday.
Slang A musical instrument, especially a guitar.

tr.v. axed, ax·ing, ax·es

To chop or fell with or as if with an ax: axed down the saplings; axed out a foothold in the ice.
Informal To remove ruthlessly or suddenly: a social program that was axed to effectuate budget cuts.

[Middle English, from Old English æx.]

Idioms & Phrases

ax to grind

A selfish aim or motive, as in The article criticized the new software, but the author had an ax to grind, as its manufacturer had fired his son. This frequently used idiom comes from a story by Charles Miner, published in 1811, about a boy who was flattered into turning the grindstone for a man sharpening his ax. He worked hard until the school bell rang, whereupon the man, instead of thanking the boy, began to scold him for being late and told him to hurry to school. "Having an ax to grind" then came into figurative use for having a personal motive for some action. [Mid-1800s]

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