axe

/æks/ (bre, ipa) · /æks/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈaks/ (ame, mw)

axe — 名詞

1. a heavy tool with a long handle and a sharp metal head, used for chopping wood o

1.名詞B1
釋義

斧頭

砍木頭或伐樹的工具

a heavy tool with a long handle and a sharp metal head, used for chopping wood or bringing down trees

例句

Ben kept an axe by the shed for cutting firewood.

Ben 把一把斧頭放在棚子旁邊，用來劈柴。

cut wood with an axe

After the storm, Rosa used an axe to clear fallen branches.

暴風雨過後，Rosa 用斧頭清掉倒下的樹枝。

use an axe to clear branches

同義詞
  • hatchet

    a smaller axe, often used with one hand.

  • machete

    a long cutting blade mainly used for plants, not heavy chopping.

  • cleaver

    usually a kitchen chopping knife, not a long-handled tool.

文法句型

cut wood with an axe

swing an axe

axe handle

axe blade

用法筆記

Often appears with verbs like swing, sharpen, carry, and use. The shorter spelling ax is especially common in American English, but axe is also widely understood.

常見錯誤

❌He cut the tree by axe.
✅He cut the tree with an axe.
💡Use with to name the tool.

2. the act of being fired from work, often suddenly or during staff cuts

2.名詞B2
釋義

解雇；裁員

人被公司趕走或裁掉

the act of being fired from work, often suddenly or during staff cuts

例句

Three editors got the axe after the newspaper lost advertisers.

那家報社失去廣告客戶後，有三名編輯被裁員。

get the axe = lose a job

When sales fell again, Ilya feared he would get the axe.

銷售再次下滑時，Ilya 很怕自己會被解雇。

同義詞
  • firing

    a direct everyday word for making someone leave a job.

  • dismissal

    more formal and common in business or legal contexts.

  • layoff

    often used when job cuts happen for business reasons rather than personal fault.

反義詞
  • hiring

    the action of giving someone a job instead of taking it away.

文法句型

get the axe

give someone the axe

fear the axe

face the axe

用法筆記

Usually appears in fixed phrases such as get the axe or give someone the axe. This sense is about a person losing a job; sense 3 is about a plan or service being stopped.

常見錯誤

❌The worker got axe yesterday.
✅The worker got the axe yesterday.
💡The phrase normally needs the.
❌My brother lost the axe last week.
✅My brother got the axe last week.
💡Use get the axe for losing a job.

3. the ending or sharp reduction of a service, project, event, or other planned act

3.名詞B2
釋義

砍掉；停辦

計畫或服務被取消

the ending or sharp reduction of a service, project, event, or other planned activity

例句

The night bus got the axe when the town cut transport costs.

鎮上削減交通開支後，夜間公車被砍掉了。

service gets the axe

Parents protested after the music program was given the axe.

音樂課程被停辦後，家長們提出抗議。

be given the axe

同義詞
  • cancellation

    a neutral word for something being called off.

  • cutback

    focuses on reducing size or money, not always ending something fully.

  • closure

    used especially when a service, building, or organization stops operating.

反義詞
  • launch

    starting a project or service instead of stopping it.

  • expansion

    making something larger instead of reducing it.

文法句型

get the axe

be given the axe

face the axe

swing the axe on something

用法筆記

The subject is usually a plan, route, service, budget item, or event rather than a person. Distinguish from sense 2, which refers to someone being dismissed from a job.

常見錯誤

❌The concert lost the axe.
✅The concert got the axe.
💡Use get the axe when something is cancelled.
❌The city gave the axe the train line.
✅The city gave the train line the axe.
💡Put the thing being cut before the axe in this pattern.

4. a guitar, saxophone, or similar instrument, especially in musicians' casual talk

4.名詞C2
釋義

吉他；薩克斯

樂手口語說的樂器

a guitar, saxophone, or similar instrument, especially in musicians' casual talk

例句

After sound check, Diego grabbed his axe and ran onstage.

彩排試音後，Diego 抓起他的吉他就跑上台。

musician slang for an instrument

The jazz teacher tuned his axe before the club doors opened.

那位爵士老師在俱樂部開門前先把薩克斯調好。

tune an axe

同義詞
  • guitar

    the most common specific instrument called an axe.

  • saxophone

    also possible, especially in jazz talk.

  • instrument

    a general neutral word without the slang tone.

文法句型

grab your axe

tune an axe

bring an axe to rehearsal

用法筆記

Common mainly among musicians and music fans, especially for guitars. It sounds playful and is not used in formal writing about instruments.

常見錯誤

❌The school bought ten axes for the band room.
✅The school bought ten guitars for the band room.
💡In normal speech, use the instrument name, not this slang word.

axe — 動詞