variants
or axe
as in dismissal
the termination of the employment of an employee or a work force often temporarily
the company was hemorrhaging money, so 700 employees would soon be given the ax
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or axe
as in to sack
to let go from office, service, or employment
the boss will ax anyone who leaks company secrets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ax
Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 5 May 2025
Defense & National Security The Big Story Hegseth wants to take axe to top military brass
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military to be cut by at least 20 percent.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 5 May 2025
Brianna Keilar, CNN Money, 22 May 2025
And Todd Blanche, who has been hired to replace Perlmutter’s boss Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress (also just axed by Trump), is helping lead the Justice Department’s case against Google over the company’s dominance in search.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ax
Noun
Tulsa King Season 3 has added Kevin Pollak (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) in the series-regular role of Special Agent Musso, an FBI agent who has an axe to grind, our sister site Variety reports.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 5 May 2025
Defense & National Security The Big Story Hegseth wants to take axe to top military brass
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military to be cut by at least 20 percent.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 5 May 2025
Verb
The school also axed the Asian-Pacific Forum Club, The Contemporary Cultural Affairs Seminar Club, The Japanese Forum Club, The Korean-American Relations Seminar, The Latin Cultural Club, The Native American Heritage Forum and The Vietnamese-American Cadet Association.
—Brianna Keilar, CNN Money, 22 May 2025
And Todd Blanche, who has been hired to replace Perlmutter’s boss Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress (also just axed by Trump), is helping lead the Justice Department’s case against Google over the company’s dominance in search.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ax
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ax
Noun
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Secretary Kristi Noem welcomed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the department for sending migrants to Guantánamo Bay.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
23 May 2025
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Despite widespread doubt following the dismissal of Malone, the Nuggets, led by the Adelman and his staff, exceeded expectations.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 May 2025
Verb
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Paulo Fonseca was sacked in December, while the end of the season saw the club decide to end Sergio Conceicao’s tenure after an eighth-place finish.—
Adam Digby,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Former Porto head coach Conceicao was sacked after just five months in charge on Thursday following a disappointing eighth place finish in Serie A that saw the club miss out on European qualification for 2025-26.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Hiring freezes, furloughs and layoffs may seem dramatic for a city that only a few short years ago had 16% fiscal reserves, but taking action today will forestall more dramatic cuts should the economy take a turn for the worse.—
The Denver Post Editorial Board,
Denver Post,
23 May 2025
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Layoffs, furloughs and a declining business outlook may reduce household income.—
Catherine Brock,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Verb
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The Suns fired 2022 Coach of the Year Monty Williams that summer, replacing him with Frank Vogel — who had just won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers two years prior.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
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Data displayed on SpaceX's live broadcast of the launch showed all 33 of the rocket's engines fired normally during its initial ascent from Texas, a reassuring sign for the reliability of the Super Heavy booster.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 May 2025
Verb
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent a licensed trapper to remove the injured alligator, officials said.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2025
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To remove that barrier, managers can ensure their team receives basic AI literacy and capability training.—
Heide Abelli,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Verb
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The charges were dismissed because West’s cause of death was not determined, and some evidence had been illegally obtained. (Netflix) Lewis was convicted of six counts of mail fraud in a 1981 credit card scheme in Kansas City.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2025
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The involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin were dismissed with prejudice last year.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
Verb
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Last Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security took the extraordinary step of terminating Harvard’s certification to enroll international students; Harvard is suing the D.H.S., and a federal judge has halted the department’s effort.—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also terminated nearly $3 million in grants for Harvard after the university defied a list of demands that included discontinuing its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, reforming student discipline policies and implementing a mask ban.—
Anna Commander
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
Verb
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An Arizona murderer was sentenced to life plus 10 years in prison on May 27 after killing a second person only 16 days after he was released in 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona.—
Christina Shaw,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2025
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Generic drugs, which are designed to provide the same therapeutic effects as brand-name ones and are released after their patents expire, account for 90% of all prescriptions in the US.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ax.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ax. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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