Word.ws English Dictionary

give the ax

give the ax is the alternative form of give the axe.

Meaning of give the axe

Verb

give the axe (third-person singular simple present gives the axe, present participle giving the axe, simple past gave the axe, past participle given the axe)

  1. (idiomatic, informal) To fire (dismiss from employment).

Forms of give the ax

third-person singular presentgives the ax
present participlegiving the ax
pastgave the ax
past participlegiven the ax

Questions about give the ax

What is give the ax the alternative form of?
Give the ax is the alternative form of give the axe.

Words near give the ax in the dictionary

  1. give something a try
  2. give something a whirl
  3. give something up as a bad job
  4. give stick
  5. give suck
  6. give the ax
  7. give the axe
  8. give the bird
  9. give the devil his due
  10. give the dirts
  11. give the elbow

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: give the ax (page history and authors); give the axe (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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