Definition of "axletree" [ax•le•tree]

• A crossbar or rod supporting a vehicle, such as a cart, that has terminal spindles on which the wheels revolve. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""I almost wish I could threaten you with a fever, or something serious; but I see you are as sound as that 'axletree' our friend spoke of the other day."
• "Now it was only half over the wheels, now it hid the axletree, and now the coach sank down in it almost to the windows."
• "The driver composedly shouted to us to alight; the hole was only deep enough to sink the vehicle to the axletree."