Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An ax having a hammer face opposite the blade, used to slaughter cattle.
- noun A medieval battle-ax consisting of a long shaft ending in an ax or a combination of an ax, hammer, and pick.
- transitive verb To strike or fell with or as if with a poleax.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Formerly, a weapon or tool consisting of an ax-head on a long handle, and often combined with a hook at the end, or a blade like a pick on the side opposite the blade of the ax; later, more loosely, a battle-ax.
- noun A weapon used in the navy by boarders and also to cut away rigging, etc. It is a hatchet with a short handle at the end of which is a strong hook.
- noun An ax for slaughtering cattle.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Anciently, a kind of battle-ax with a long handle; later, an ax or hatchet with a short handle, and a head variously patterned; -- used by soldiers, and also by sailors in boarding a vessel.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative spelling of
poleaxe . - verb Alternative spelling of
poleaxe .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an ax used to slaughter cattle; has a hammer opposite the blade
- noun a battle ax used in the Middle Ages; a long handled ax and a pick
- verb fell with or as if with a poleax
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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You could poleax these people with a sledgehammer to the noggin, morning, noon and night, and still nothing would get through.
How Much Longer Can the GOP Maintain Credibility When All They Say Is "No! No! No! No! No!"? 2010
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You could poleax these people with a sledgehammer to the noggin, morning, noon and night, and still nothing would get through.
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Aren't they cute when you poleax them with reality?
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Nearby, Vaako, realizing what had happened, realizing what it meant, let the ancient poleax he still held fall to the ground.
The Chronicles of Riddick Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2004
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Ceremonial poleax in hand, Vaako leaped from the balustrade, landed on the floor below, and raced toward the throne.
The Chronicles of Riddick Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2004
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Kireno dodged the sweep of a poleax and charged in before the guard could recover.
Nemesis Thompson, Paul B. 2000
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The poleax tipped up and followed him into oblivion.
Nemesis Thompson, Paul B. 2000
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Takara said nothing, but held the poleax shaft over the guard's head.
Nemesis Thompson, Paul B. 2000
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Thus he missed the fact that the joy fill news of Bane's return caused Stephen to go rigid, as if struck by a poleax.
The Hand of Chaos Hickman, Tracy 1993
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Then, as Zal raised the poleax, Conan darted in under the blow, and the next instant Zal was down, writhing in his own blood and entrails.
Conan of Cimmeria Howard, Robert E. 1969
knitandpurl commented on the word poleax
Whenever I see this word I want to say it in my head like "pole-ee-ax" even though I know it's not. I just came across it in a review in the New Yorker of a production of The Glass Menagerie.
April 10, 2010