adze

noun

ˈadz How to pronounce adze (audio)
variants or less commonly adz
: a cutting tool that has a thin arched blade set at right angles to the handle and is used chiefly for shaping wood

Illustration of adze

Illustration of adze

Examples of adze in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Researchers have also unearthed stone tools, called adzes, made from basalt that came from Tahiti, Moorea, the Marquesas Islands, the Austral Islands and Tonga, which suggests Tetiaroa’s inhabitants were part of a wide-reaching trade network. — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025 Other tools are far more complex and specialized contraptions, such as Polynesian quadrangular adzes, multifaceted stone blades used by ancient Hawaiians to cut wood. — Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 17 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English adse, adese, going back to Old English adesa, of obscure origin

Note: There are no forms directly comparable to Old English adesa in Germanic. See the lengthy but inconclusive discussion of the word in Anatoly Liberman, An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology: An Introduction (University of Minnesota Press, 2008), pp. 1-3.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of adze was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

adz block
adze
adz-eye hammer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Adze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adze. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

adze

noun
variants also adz
ˈadz How to pronounce adze (audio)
: a cutting tool that has a thin arched blade set at right angles to the handle and is used chiefly for shaping wood

More from Merriam-Webster on adze

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about adze

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