EN

Synonyms for axe

17 synonyms
2 meanings

verb
noun
British English

Most common

serve notice sack terminate downsize

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Sack — to lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel

fire, can US, sack, term, pink slip US, serve notice, give the axe informal, terminate, downsize

Noun

1. Chop — A dismissal or rejection

Other

hatchet, cleaver, guitar, pole-axe, lay-off, mattock

Definitions

v. 1
To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel.
He got axed in the last round of firings.
n. 1
A dismissal or rejection.
His girlfriend/boss/schoolmaster gave him the axe.

Related words

Word family: axeman
Phrases: give the axe battle axe axe wound ice axe wagoner's axe
Other spellings: ax US

Forms

Plural: axes → chops, boots, hatchets, cleavers…
Past participle: axed
e.g. axed → fired, canned, sacked, termed…

Example sentences

sack All I found in the pantry was a sack of hard bread.
terminate Globalists want to terminate the property till 2030.
downsize You may downsize to a smaller house.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
axe		steady
sack		rising
terminate		falling
downsize		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: can¹
4 letters: fire², term¹, boot¹, sack¹, chop¹
6 letters: guitar²
7 letters: hatchet², cleaver², mattock
8 letters: downsize²
9 letters: terminate³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (fire² = 2 syllables).