Axe
Axe verb - Chop or split with an ax.
Cleave
Cleave verb - To hold to something firmly as if by adhesion.
Common collocations
| way | axe way | cleave way |
Both words in one sentence
- In Thunderbolts, it's revealed than the axe-wielding Headsman's real name is "Cleavon Twain", as in "cleave in twain" (or in simpler terms, "cut in two").
Source: Meaningful Name / Comic Books -
A Viking warrior who was transported through time to the D-Day landing, he carried an axe called Iron Fang that had been magically strengthened by his journey through time to the point where it could cleave tank armour.
Source: An Axe to Grind -
From tip to hilt it's as tall as he is, and he uses it to vertically cleave a Danish soldier in half through the axe he used to block the strike.
Source: BFS
Cite this Source
Cleave and Axe. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 20, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/axe/cleave
Axe & Cleave. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/axe/cleave>.
Cleave or Axe. 2016. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/axe/cleave.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "axe" and "cleave" have occurred on timeline