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# ax

noun (an ax, axes); verb (ax, axes, axed, axing)

«ax» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An ax is a tool with a heavy metal blade on a long handle, used for chopping wood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#m1)
2. (informal) To ax something is to cancel it or cut it; to ax a worker is to fire them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#m2)
3. In some old or dialect English, "ax" is another spelling of "ask". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#m3)

### In the lessons

«Ax» is the American spelling; British, Irish, Canadian, Australian and NZ English usually write «axe». In history, Vikings fought with battle-axes. In news, «the show was axed» means cancelled. Safety: axes are very sharp and only for trained adults.

### Examples

- The lumberjack swung his ax at the tree. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#x1)
- George Washington's story tells of a cherry tree and an ax. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#x2)
- The TV show was axed after one season. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#x3)
- Dad chopped firewood with an ax. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#x4)
- The firefighter broke down the door with an ax. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#x5)
- Hundreds of jobs were axed at the factory. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/#x6)

### Note

US spelling «ax»; elsewhere «axe». Plural: axes (pronounced like the plural of «axis», but «axes» of a graph is a different word). Past: axed.

## In Jewish tradition

«Ax» is the American spelling; British, Irish, Canadian, Australian and NZ English usually write «axe». In history, Vikings fought with battle-axes. In news, «the show was axed» means cancelled. Safety: axes are very sharp and only for trained adults.

### Examples

- § 11 Three vowels n"ax constitute a great secret, marvellous and hidden. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/A/ax/#x1)

### Note

US spelling «ax»; elsewhere «axe». Plural: axes (pronounced like the plural of «axis», but «axes» of a graph is a different word). Past: axed.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «ax» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ax/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ax» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ax.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «ax» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/A/ax/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ax» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/ax.html) on Mova free.