to poleax
1
9.9
- verb
- /ˈpoʊlˌæks/
- Archaic
:
derribar
- The man stared wildly around the warehouse, then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell back onto the straw as though he'd been poleaxed.
Examples
-
The surprise announcement at the meeting really poleaxed the entire team.
-
She reaches for a flower pot on a potting shelf and poleaxes him on the top of the head.
Fiction book (1992) -
Mad Dog Grimes has been poleaxed.
-
Yes, it was almost a matter of seconds, one minute she was playing, just as she always did, the next she keeled over as if she had been poleaxed.
-
He went down like a poleaxed buffalo as bullets stitched neat holes across the ceiling.
Fiction book (1997) -
She was poleaxed by the unexpected news of her promotion.
-
When they scored the final goal in the last minute, it poleaxed the other team's confidence.
Synonyms
133
4.4
To hit something with a long thin object or move it quickly and forcefully
36
4.8
To hit something forcefully with a whip
14
8.2
To hit someone so hard that they fall to the ground
2
7.3
To hit something or someone very hard
1
7.2
To hit something very hard with a large heavy tool with a long handle
1
9.3
To hit someone or something again and again with your fists
To knock someone to the ground as if hit by a heavy weapon
To hit something hard with a heavy hammer that has a long handle
To hit something hard so it makes a loud sound
How Hard
Surface Forms
Etymology
The verb poleax comes from being hit by a heavy pole-axe, so to poleax someone is to be knocked down as if struck by that big weapon, which is why the word means 'to knock down' or 'to overwhelm'.