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View synonyms for

hatchet

[hach-it]

noun

  1. a small, short-handled ax having the end of the head opposite the blade in the form of a hammer, made to be used with one hand.

  2. a tomahawk.

  3. hatchetfish.



verb (used with object)

  1. to cut, destroy, kill, etc., with a hatchet.

  2. to abridge, delete, excise, etc..

    The network censor may hatchet 30 minutes from the script.

hatchet

/ ˈæʃɪ /

noun

  1. a short axe used for chopping wood, etc

  2. a tomahawk

  3. (modifier) of narrow dimensions and sharp features

    a hatchet face

  4. to cease hostilities and become reconciled

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • hatchetlike adjective
  • ˈ󲹳ٳ-ˌ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hatchet1

1300–50; 1670–80, hatchet for def. 6; Middle English hachet < Middle French hachette, diminutive ( -et ) of hache ax < Frankish *hapja kind of knife; akin to Greek óٱ𾱲 to cut ( comma, syncope )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hatchet1

C14: from Old French hachette, from hache axe, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German happa knife
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited; make peace.

  2. take up the hatchet, to begin or resume hostilities; prepare for or go to war.

    The natives are taking up the hatchet against the enemy.

In addition to the idioms beginning with hatchet, also see bury the hatchet.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Dighton arrived at Talbot Green police station in January armed with a hatchet, a pole and Molotov cocktails.

From

It was there that he was assaulted with a hatchet.

From

Trump took their side, saying that Musk needed to start using a "scalpel instead of a hatchet."

From

She called the mayor’s proposed budget “a hatchet to so many programs that Angelenos rely on” and said there was no “rhyme or reason” to some of the suggested cuts.

From

"The tariffs are taking a hatchet to small businesses across America," Jonathan Cathey, who owns a toy company in Los Angeles, told the BBC over the phone.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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hatcheryhatchet face