ice ax

noun

an ax used by mountain climbers for cutting footholds in ice

• Syn: ↑ice axe, ↑piolet

• Hypernyms: ↑ax, ↑axe

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noun

: a mountain-climbing tool that has a pick and adze at one end of a shaft and a spike or a ferrule at the other end and that is used especially for cutting steps, belaying, and glissading

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a mountaineering tool combining an adzlike blade and a pick on the head of a long wooden handle, with a spike on the end, used for cutting into ice and for support on icy surfaces.

[1810-20]

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ice ax,

a small ax, used in mountain climbing, with a slender wooden handle and a head combining a blade and a pick: »

He and another officer chopped an 18-in. hole in the snow with an alpine ice ax (Time).

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(also ice axe) n. an ax used by climbers for cutting footholds in ice, having a head with one pointed and one flattened end, and a spike at the foot

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noun, pl ⋯ axes [count]

: a cutting tool that is used in mountain climbing

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ˈice axe [ice axe ice axes] (BrE) (US usually ˈice ax) noun

a tool used by people climbing mountains for cutting steps into ice