ax
ax / aks/ (also axe) •
n. 1. a tool typically used for chopping wood, usually a steel blade attached at a right angle to a wooden handle. ∎ fig. a measure intended to reduce costs drastically, esp. one that involves elimination of staff: thirty workers are facing the ax in the assembly department.2. inf. a musical instrument, esp. a jazz musician's saxophone or a bass guitar.•
v. [tr.] 1. end, cancel, or dismiss suddenly and ruthlessly: the company is axing 125 jobs. ∎ reduce (costs or services) drastically.2. cut or strike with an ax, esp. violently or destructively: the door had been axed by the firefighters.PHRASES: have an ax to grind have a self-serving reason for doing or being involved in something: she joined the board because she had an ax to grind.
ax