An ax (sometimes spelled axe) is a tool with a heavy metal blade attached to a wooden or fiberglass handle, used for chopping wood. When you swing an ax, the sharp edge splits logs or cuts down trees. The weight of the blade does most of the work, which is why even a relatively small person can split firewood with a good ax and proper technique.

Axes have been essential tools for thousands of years. Before power tools existed, settlers built their homes, cleared their land, and heated their cabins using axes. A skilled person with an ax could fell a massive tree, then split the trunk into boards or firewood. Paul Bunyan, the legendary lumberjack from American folklore, supposedly wielded a giant ax as he carved out forests across the frontier.

Today, firefighters carry axes to break through doors and walls during rescues. Competitive lumberjacks race to chop through logs at state fairs. And many people still prefer splitting their winter firewood with an ax rather than a machine, finding satisfaction in the solid thunk of blade meeting wood.

The phrase to have an ax to grind means having a hidden complaint or personal agenda that makes you biased. If someone keeps bringing up the same grievance over and over, they've “got an ax to grind” about it.