from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
noun A pick, especially with one end of the head pointed and the other end with a chisel edge for cutting through roots.
intransitive verb To use a pickax.
intransitive verb To use a pickax on.
from The Century Dictionary.
To cut or clear away with a pickax.
To use a pickax.
noun A pick, especially one with a sharp point on one side of the head and a broad blade on the other. The pointed end is used for loosening hard earth, and the other for cutting the roots of trees. See also cuts under pick, n., 1.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
noun A pick with a point at one end, a transverse edge or blade at the other, and a handle inserted at the middle; a hammer with a flattened end for driving wedges and a pointed end for piercing as it strikes.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
noun Alternative spelling of pickaxe.
verb Alternative spelling of pickaxe.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
noun a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Middle English picax, alteration (influenced by ax, ax) of picas, from Old French picois (from pic, pick) and from Medieval Latin pīcōsa, both probably from Latin pīcus, woodpecker.]
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Examples
Here's what I'm sure of: I wouldn't tolerate someone ripping my dog's teeth out (baby pigs); stuffing him in a cramped wire cage (egg-laying chickens); or swinging a pickax at his face (Blue-Fin Tuna).
Here's what I'm sure of: I wouldn't tolerate someone ripping my dog's teeth out (baby pigs); stuffing him in a cramped wire cage (egg-laying chickens); or swinging a pickax at his face (Blue-Fin Tuna).
He lets the pickax fall to the ground and digs deep into his pocket for a cell phone, punches in some letters and lets Claire copy the number off the screen.
Brian comes out in the first number, looking like a pioneer, carrying a leather shoulder bag and a pickax, singing about the thrill of the American frontier and the great move westward.
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