Definition of "pickax" [pick•ax]

• A pick, especially with one end of the head pointed and the other end with a chisel edge for cutting through roots. (noun)
• To use a pickax. (verb-intransitive)
• To use a pickax on. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "The logo for Kirk Miller's debonair menswear label, Miller's Oath, is a pickax."
• "A second report from April 2009 describes an Iraqi detainee as being covered in bruises and a scar from being bludgeoned with a pickax."
• "Here's what I'm sure of: I wouldn't tolerate someone ripping my dog's teeth out (baby pigs); stuffing him in a cramped wire cage (egg-laying chickens); or swinging a pickax at his face (Blue-Fin Tuna)."