a tool with a wooden handle and a heavy metal blade, used for cutting up wood, cutting down trees, etc. 斧 
Extra Examplessee also battleaxe, ice axe, pickaxeTopics Gardensc1to chop a tree down with an axe 用斧头砍倒一棵树 The executioner's axe fell. 刽子手手起斧落。 With a few swift blows of the axe, she severed the cable. 她用斧子干净利落地砍了几下，就把电缆切断了。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + axe- brandish
- carry
- heft
- …
- fall
- with an/the axe
- a blow from an axe
- a blow of an axe
- the axe[singular] (informal)
(often used in newspapers 常用于报刊中 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 money （遭）解雇；倒闭；被停业 Up to 300 workers are facing the axe at a struggling Merseyside firm. 默西赛德的一家艰苦挣扎的公司有多达 300 名工人面临被解雇。 Patients are delighted their local hospital has been saved from the axe. 病人高兴的是当地医院得以免遭关闭。 Protesters, anxious over the spending cuts, urged councillors to think again before wielding the axe. 抗议者对削减开支感到焦虑，敦促议员们在挥舞斧头前三思。
Extra ExamplesHis prime-time TV show is likely to get the axe. 他在黄金时段的电视节目很可能会被取消。 We were expecting bad news but had no idea where the axe would fall. 我们预料到有坏消息，却不知道遭殃的会是什么。 Wielding the axe on the prison plan would be one way of saving money. 取消监狱规划会是省钱的一种方法。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + the axe- be given
- get
- swing
- …
- fall
Word OriginOld English æx, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch aaks and German Axt.
Idioms
have an axe to grind
to have private reasons for being involved in something or for arguing for a particular cause 有私心；有个人打算