give the axe

1 definition found

give the axe - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  give the axe
      v 1: terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or
           position; "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The
           company terminated 25% of its workers" [syn: displace,
           fire, give notice, can, dismiss, give the axe,
           send away, sack, force out, give the sack,
           terminate] [ant: employ, engage, hire]
      2: terminate a relationship abruptly; "Mary gave John the axe
         after she saw him with another woman" [syn: give the axe,
         give the bounce, give the gate]