Definition of axe noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

axe

noun

æks

æks

(especially British English) (US usually ax)1 a tool with a wooden handle and a heavy metal blade, used for chopping wood, cutting down trees, etc. see also battleaxe, ice axe, pickaxe2 the axe [singular] (informal) (often used in newspapers) if somebody gets the axe, they lose their job; if an institution or a project gets the axe, it is closed or stopped, usually because of a lack of moneyUp to 300 workers are facing the axe at a struggling Merseyside firm.Patients are delighted their local hospital has been saved from the axe.Protesters, anxious over the spending cuts, urged councillors to think again before wielding the axe.

Idioms

have an axe to grind

to have private reasons for being involved in something or for arguing for a particular cause

She had no axe to grind and was only acting out of concern for their safety.These criticisms are commonly voiced by those who have some political axe to grind.