ax

ax¹

A0554050 (ăks)n. & v. Variant of axe.

ax²

A0554050 (ăks) or axev. ax·ed, ax·ing, ax·es Nonstandard Variant of ask.Our Living Language Ax, a nonstandard variant of ask, is often identified as an especially salient feature of African American Vernacular English. The usage occurs most frequently in the speech of Southern, working-class African Americans, but it occurs occasionally in the speech of working-class white Southerners as well. Interestingly, it was once common among New Englanders, but it largely died out in the early 19th century. The widespread use of this pronunciation should not be surprising since ax is a very old word in English, having been used in England for over 1,000 years. In Old English we find both āscian and ācsian, and in Middle English both asken and axen. Moreover, the forms with cs or x had no stigma associated with them. Manuscripts of Chaucer use asken and axen interchangeably, as in the lines "I wol aske, if it hir will be / To be my wyf" and "Men axed hym, what sholde bifalle," both from The Canterbury Tales. The forms in x arose from the forms in sk by a linguistic process called metathesis, in which two sounds are reversed. The x thus represents (ks), the flipped version of (sk). Metathesis is a common linguistic process around the world and does not arise from a defect in speaking. Nevertheless, ax has become stigmatized as substandard—a fate that has befallen other words, like ain't, that were once perfectly acceptable in literate circles.

ax

or axe

(æks)

n., pl. ax•es (ˈæk sɪz) n. 1. a tool with a blade on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping, etc. 2. Slang. a jazz instrument, esp. a guitar or saxophone. 3. the ax, a. a sudden, peremptory dismissal, as from a job. b. a usu. summary removal or curtailment. v.t. 4. to shape or trim with an ax. 5. to chop, split, or break open with an ax. 6. to dismiss, restrict, or remove, esp. brutally or summarily: Congress axed the budget. Idioms: have an ax to grind, to have a particular personal or selfish motive. [before 1000; Old English æx, æces; akin to Old High German acc(h)us, a(c)kus, Old Norse øx, ǫx, Gothic aquizi, Latin ascia (<*acsiā), Greek axinē]

ax.

axiom.

ax

Past participle: axed
Gerund: axing

Imperative	axax

Present	I axyou axhe/she/it axeswe axyou axthey ax

Preterite	I axedyou axedhe/she/it axedwe axedyou axedthey axed

Present Continuous	I am axingyou are axinghe/she/it is axingwe are axingyou are axingthey are axing

Present Perfect	I have axedyou have axedhe/she/it has axedwe have axedyou have axedthey have axed

Past Continuous	I was axingyou were axinghe/she/it was axingwe were axingyou were axingthey were axing

Past Perfect	I had axedyou had axedhe/she/it had axedwe had axedyou had axedthey had axed

Future	I will axyou will axhe/she/it will axwe will axyou will axthey will ax

Future Perfect	I will have axedyou will have axedhe/she/it will have axedwe will have axedyou will have axedthey will have axed

Future Continuous	I will be axingyou will be axinghe/she/it will be axingwe will be axingyou will be axingthey will be axing

Present Perfect Continuous	I have been axingyou have been axinghe/she/it has been axingwe have been axingyou have been axingthey have been axing

Future Perfect Continuous	I will have been axingyou will have been axinghe/she/it will have been axingwe will have been axingyou will have been axingthey will have been axing

Past Perfect Continuous	I had been axingyou had been axinghe/she/it had been axingwe had been axingyou had been axingthey had been axing

Conditional	I would axyou would axhe/she/it would axwe would axyou would axthey would ax

Past Conditional	I would have axedyou would have axedhe/she/it would have axedwe would have axedyou would have axedthey would have axed

Thesaurus

Noun

ax - an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handleaxeax handle, axe handle - the handle of an axax head, axe head - the cutting head of an axblade - the flat part of a tool or weapon that (usually) has a cutting edgebroadax, broadaxe - a large ax with a broad cutting bladecommon ax, common axe, Dayton ax, Dayton axe - an ax with a long handle and a head that has one cutting edge and one blunt sidedouble-bitted ax, double-bitted axe, Western ax, Western axe - an ax that has cutting edges on both sides of the headedge tool - any cutting tool with a sharp cutting edge (as a chisel or knife or plane or gouge)fireman's ax, fireman's axe - an ax that has a long handle and a head with one cutting edge and a point on the other sidehaft, helve - the handle of a weapon or toolhatchet - a small ax with a short handle used with one hand (usually to chop wood)ice ax, ice axe, piolet - an ax used by mountain climbers for cutting footholds in icepoleax, poleaxe - an ax used to slaughter cattle; has a hammer opposite the blade

Verb

ax - chop or split with an ax; "axe wood"axehack, chop - cut with a hacking tool

ax - terminate; "The NSF axed the research program and stopped funding it"axeterminate, end - bring to an end or halt; "She ended their friendship when she found out that he had once been convicted of a crime"; "The attack on Poland terminated the relatively peaceful period after WW I"

ax

nounInformal. The act of dismissing or the condition of being dismissed from employment:discharge, dismissal, termination.Slang: boot, bounce, sack.verbInformal. To end the employment or service of:cashier, discharge, dismiss, drop, release, terminate.Informal: fire, pink-slip.Slang: boot, bounce, can, sack.Idioms: give someone his or her walking papers, give someone the ax, give someone the gate, give someone the pink slip, let go, show someone the door.

Translations

斧子

axe

(ӕks) (American) ax noun a tool with a (long) handle and a metal blade for cutting down trees and cutting wood etc into pieces. 斧 verb1. to get rid of; to dismiss. They've axed 50% of their staff. 解雇，削减 2. to reduce (costs, services etc). Government spending in education has been axed.减少

ax

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ax

have an axe to grind

1. To have a complaint or dispute that one feels compelled to discuss. I think the boss has a bit of an axe to grind with you over the way the account was handled.2. To have a personal motivation or selfish reason for saying or doing something. It was boy's-club attitudes like yours that made my time at school a living hell, so yeah, I have a bit of an axe to grind. I don't have an ax to grind here—I just want to know the truth.See also: axe, grind, have

get the ax(e)

1. To be fired. I'm going to get the axe if the boss finds out that printing error was my fault.2. To be ended or stopped abruptly. I'm so disappointed that my favorite show got the axe this year.See also: get

get the sack

To be fired from a job or task. The new secretary is so rude—it's time she got the sack. I tried so hard to do a good job in Mrs. Smith's garden, but I got the sack anyway.See also: get, sack

an ax(e) hanging over (someone or something)

1. The threat of being fired. There's definitely going to be an axe hanging over me if the boss finds out that printing error was my fault.2. The threat of being destroyed or ended. I worry that there's an axe hanging over our initiative now that our funding's been slashed.See also: hanging, over

an axe to grind

1. A complaint or dispute that one feels compelled to discuss. I think the boss has a bit of an axe to grind with you over the way the account was handled.2. A personal motivation or selfish reason for saying or doing something. It was boy's-club attitudes like yours that made my time at school a living hell, so yeah, I have a bit of an axe to grind. I don't have an axe to grind here—I just want to know the truth.See also: axe, grind

old battle-axe

A strong-willed, argumentative woman, typically older in age, who is considered overbearing or domineering. My grandmother was always the matriarch of the entire family, an old battle-axe who answered to no one but God. I gained a reputation of being an old-battle axe in the office because of how outspoken and unbending I am about certain issues.See also: old

give (one) the ax(e)

To fire one. The boss is going to give me the axe if he finds out that printing error was my fault.See also: give

have an ax(e) to grind

Fig. to have something to complain about. Tom, I need to talk to you. I have an ax to grind. Bill and Bob went into the other room to argue. They had an axe to grind.See also: ax, grind, have

old battle-axe

a bossy old woman. She is such an old battle-axe. I'll bet she's hell to live with.See also: old

*sack

and *axdismissal from one's employment. (*Typically: get ~; give someone ~.) Poor Tom got the sack today. He's always late. I was afraid that Sally was going to get the ax.

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] See also: ax, grind

get the ax

Also, get the boot or bounce or can or heave-ho or hook or sack . Be discharged or fired, expelled, or rejected. For example, He got the ax at the end of the first week, or The manager was stunned when he got the boot himself, or We got the bounce in the first quarter, or The pitcher got the hook after one inning, or Bill finally gave his brother-in-law the sack. All but the last of these slangy expressions date from the 1870s and 1880s. They all have variations using give that mean "to fire or expel someone," as in Are they giving Ruth the ax?Get the ax alludes to the executioner's ax, and get the boot to literally booting or kicking someone out. Get the bounce alludes to being bounced out; get the can comes from the verb can, "to dismiss," perhaps alluding to being sealed in a container; get the heave-ho alludes to heave in the sense of lifting someone bodily, and get the hook is an allusion to a fishing hook. Get the sack, first recorded in 1825, probably came from French though it existed in Middle Dutch. The reference here is to a workman's sac ("bag") in which he carried his tools and which was given back to him when he was fired. Also see give someone the air. See also: ax, get

get the sack

see under get the ax. See also: get, sack

have an axe to grind

COMMON If someone has an axe to grind, they have particular attitudes about something, often because they think they have been treated badly or because they want to get an advantage. Note: `Axe' is spelled `ax' in American English. Lord Gifford believed cases should be referred by an independent agency which, as he put it, doesn't have an axe to grind. He didn't have a critical ax to grind. He was very open-minded about other people's work. Note: You can also say that you have no axe to grind to deny that your strong opinions about something are based on personal reasons. The unions insist they have no axe to grind, because they will represent operators wherever they work. Note: There are several explanations for the origin of this expression. One is a story told by Benjamin Franklin about a man who managed to get his own axe sharpened by asking a boy to show him how his father's grindstone worked. See also: axe, grind, have

have an axe to grind

have a private, sometimes malign, motive for doing or being involved in something. The expression originated in a story told by Benjamin Franklin and was used first in the USA, especially with reference to politics, but it is now in general use. 1997 Times I am a non-smoker, and have no personal axe to grind. See also: axe, grind, have

have an ˈaxe to grind

(usually used in negative sentences) have private, often selfish, reasons for being involved in something: Having no particular political axe to grind, he stood for election as an independent candidate.See also: axe, grind, have

get the sack

and get the ax tv. to be dismissed from one’s employment. Poor Tom got the sack today. He’s always late. If I miss another day, I’ll get the ax. See also: get, sack

get the ax

verbSee get the sackSee also: ax, get

give someone the ax

1. tv. to dismiss someone from employment. I was afraid they would give me the ax. 2. tv. to divorce someone. She gave him the ax because he wouldn’t stop smoking like he promised. See also: ax, give, someone

sack

1. n. a bed. I was so tired I could hardly find my sack. 2. tv. to dismiss someone from employment; to fire someone. If I do that again, they’ll sack me. 3. and the sack n. a dismissal. (Always with the in this sense.) The boss gave them all the sack. 4. tv. in football, to tackle the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. I tried to sack him, but he was too fast. 5. n. the completion of a tackle in football. Andy made the sack on the ten-yard line.

ax to grind, an

A selfish motive. Allegedly this term comes from a cautionary tale by Charles Miner, first published in 1810, about a boy persuaded to turn the grindstone for a man sharpening his ax. The work not only was difficult to do but also made him late for school. Instead of praising the youngster, the man then scolded him for truancy and told him to hurry to school. Other sources attribute it to a similar story recounted by Benjamin Franklin. Whichever its origin, the term was frequently used thereafter and apparently was a cliché by the mid-nineteenth century. See also: ax

battle-ax

A bossy, combative woman. Obviously referring to the ancient weapon, the figurative usage dates from the late 1800s. For example, “That battle-ax of a secretary guards her boss so no one can get in to see him.” The cliché is now heard less often and may be dying out.

give someone the ax, to

To fire someone from his or her job. See also sack; pink slip. See also: give, someone

ax

ax 1

ax 2

ax

or axe

ax.

ax

ax

axe

ax

ax

have an axe to grind

get the ax(e)

get the sack

an ax(e) hanging over (someone or something)

an axe to grind

old battle-axe

give (one) the ax(e)

have an ax(e) to grind

old battle-axe

*sack

ax to grind

get the ax

get the sack

have an axe to grind

have an axe to grind

have an ˈaxe to grind

get the sack

get the ax

give someone the ax

sack

ax to grind, an

battle-ax

give someone the ax, to

Ax

axe

Ax

ax

ax

Ax

ax

ax

AX

AX

AX

AX

ax

Synonyms for ax

noun the act of dismissing or the condition of being dismissed from employment

Synonyms

verb to end the employment or service of

Synonyms

Synonyms for ax

noun an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle

Synonyms

Related Words

verb chop or split with an ax

Synonyms

Related Words

verb terminate

Synonyms

Related Words

ax¹

ax²