ax(e)
ax(e) — noun
1. a tool with a heavy blade on a long handle that you swing to cut trees or split
a tool with a heavy blade on a long handle that you swing to cut trees or split wood.
Owen kept the axe by the shed for splitting winter firewood.
collocation: split firewood with an axe
After the storm, Yael borrowed an axe to clear the fallen branch.
The guide warned Ayana to swing the axe with both hands.
When the handle cracked, Esteban stopped using the axe at once.
文法句型
use an axe to + verb
swing an axe
split wood with an axe
用法筆記
Usually countable. People often mention the handle or blade when talking about safe use, because an axe is swung with force rather than pressed like a knife.
常見錯誤
2. the sudden loss of a job, service, plan, or budget after someone decides to cut
the sudden loss of a job, service, plan, or budget after someone decides to cut it.
After sales fell again, several warehouse staff feared the axe.
fixed phrase: fear the axe
The council's youth program escaped the axe after parents protested.
By Friday, Henrik knew his department would face the axe first.
The museum cafe got the axe when the building closed for repairs.
- dismissal
fits the job-loss meaning, but not cuts to plans or budgets
- cut
broader and more neutral; it can refer to money, services, or staff
- cancellation
fits plans or events that are stopped, not people losing jobs
- retention
keeping staff or services instead of removing them
文法句型
face the axe
get the axe
escape the axe
用法筆記
Usually appears in the phrases face the axe, get the axe, or escape the axe. With people it means losing jobs; with projects or services it means they are stopped or cut sharply.
常見錯誤
ax(e) — verb
1. to strike wood or another hard thing with an axe so that it is cut, shaped, or b
to strike wood or another hard thing with an axe so that it is cut, shaped, or broken apart.
Cyrus axed the thick root before the workers moved the stump.
axe + hard object
Jin axed the frozen log into shorter pieces for the stove.
axe + object + into pieces
After marking the line, Jessica carefully axed the branch from the trunk.
The carpenter axed the rough edges off the post before painting it.
文法句型
axe + noun phrase
axe + object + into pieces
axe + object + off
用法筆記
Object is usually wood or another hard material such as a root, post, or beam. This sense describes the physical action with the tool, not the figurative budget-cutting sense in verb sense 2.
常見錯誤
2. to remove someone from a job or to stop something by cutting it quickly and comp
to remove someone from a job or to stop something by cutting it quickly and completely.
The airline axed its late-night route after months of low demand.
axe + service or route
Nila was axed from the sales team before the merger was announced.
passive: be axed from a job
To save money, the college axed three weekend classes this term.
Aaron's editor axed the final chapter because the book was too long.
文法句型
axe + jobs/services/classes
be axed
axe + part of a text or plan
用法筆記
Common with jobs, routes, classes, budgets, and other planned things. In passive use with a person, it usually means losing a job, not simply being removed from a casual group.