noun

hatchet

HAT-shiht

noun

A small hand axe with a short handle.

"He used a hatchet to split kindling for the fire."

Harsh, aggressive criticism, especially in the phrase "hatchet job."

"The review was a total hatchet job on the new film."

How to Use Hatchet

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA small axe — or, idiomatically, a piece of harsh, deliberately damaging criticism.

Memory tip

"Bury the hatchet" means to make peace after a conflict, referencing an old custom of literally burying weapons.

Trace the full origin ↓

Common pairings

bury the hatchet hatchet job swing a hatchet

hatcheted past tense, hatchetted past tense, hatchets plural, hatchets singular

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He used a _____ to split kindling for the fire.

From Old French hachete, a diminutive of hache, "axe" — ultimately from the same Frankish root that gives us "hash."

ratchet