The words 'ax' and 'axe' are both correct, but 'axe' is more common. The shorter spelling 'ax' was favored by Noah Webster, but 'axe' has prevailed as the dominant spelling for most of the years since.

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, …

AX definition: an instrument with a bladed head on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping, etc. See examples of ax used in a sentence.

An ax is a tool used for cutting wood. It consists of a heavy metal blade that is sharp at one edge and attached by its other edge to the end of a long handle. If someone's job or something such as a …

Jan 31, 2023 · Again, both “ax” and “axe” are correct versions of the word, so you can’t go wrong using either. Use whichever spelling feels right for you—but beware of rules surrounding British English …

AX meaning: 1 : a tool that has a heavy metal blade and a long handle and that is used for chopping wood; 2 : a hidden and often selfish purpose for doing something.

The meaning of AX is a cutting tool that consists of a heavy edged head fixed to a handle with the edge parallel to the handle and that is used especially for felling trees and chopping and splitting wood.

Dec 23, 2025 · Burke Devore is a middle-aged manager at a paper company when the cost-cutting ax falls, and he is laid off. Eighteen months later and still unemployed, he puts a new spin on his job …

Jan 11, 2026 · ax (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed) US standard spelling of axe.

As Americans tend to shorten words for easier use, you will more often spell "ax" in American English and "axe" in British English - but this is just a subtle linguistic preference and none of these forms is …