hatchet man

Also found in: Thesaurus, Financial, Idioms, Wikipedia.

hatchet man

n. Slang

1. A man hired to commit murder.

2. One assigned to carry out a ruthless task or a vicious or unscrupulous order.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hatchet man

1. a person carrying out unpleasant assignments for an employer or superior

2. US and Canadian a hired murderer

3. a severe or malicious critic

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hatch′et man`

1. a professional murderer.

2. a writer or speaker who specializes in defamatory attacks.

3. a person who executes unpleasant tasks for a superior.

[1745–55, Amer.]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	hatchet man - a professional killer iceman liquidator, manslayer, murderer - a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
	2.	hatchet man - one whose job it is to execute unpleasant tasks for a superior enforcer assistant, helper, help, supporter - a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; "my invaluable assistant"; "they hired additional help to finish the work"

hatchet man

noun (Informal) hit man, heavy (slang), killer, gunman, murderer, thug, assassin, destroyer, cut-throat (slang), hired assassin a hatchet man for a famous gangland boss

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

esperto in ristrutturazioni aziendali

hatchet man

n (fam) → scagnozzo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

Foxconn tycoon and Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Terry Gou on Wednesday (June 26) said that Want Want Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng is the "hatchet man" and "lackey" of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).

Taiwan's Foxconn tycoon calls Want Want boss China's 'hatchet man and lackey'

Warrior Sky One, 10pm Based on the writings of Bruce Lee, this period crime drama stars Andrew Koji (left) as a martial arts prodigy who is hired as a hatchet man for a crime family in 1800s San Francisco.

CHOICE

Del Pilar earned a reputation as Aguinaldo's ambitious, unquestioning go-to subordinate, his 'hatchet man.' The biggest irony of 'Goyo' the movie becoming the second part of Tarog's historical trilogy after 'Heneral Luna' is that Del Pilar was essentially Luna's bitter enemy and would have most likely have killed Luna if Aguinaldo's men hadn't beaten him to the punch.

Hero or heel, 'Don Juan' or hatchet man? 'Goyo' the film companion fills in the gossipy gaps

The Liverpool forward was forced off in the first half of the 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid after tangling with Spanish hatchet man Sergio Ramos.

Fully fit Mo: I feel good

None of these has succeeded in football management and can you imagine how fine footballers like Bale, Ramsey, Allen and the youngsters, Woodburn, Empadu, Brooks etc will feel about being coached by the hatchet man of MU?

Giggs at the helm, so heaven help us all; Views of Wales

Li said that Dailai Lama was the hatchet man of anti-China forces in the world, the ringleader of the conspiracy of "Free Tibet", the ultimate agitator of the chaos of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism and the utmost impediment to the normal development of Tibetan Buddhism.

China accuses Dalai Lama of instigating self-immolations

She appointed hatchet man Ian MacGregor as head of the Coal Board and then began to stockpile coal at power stations.

Thatcher destroyed our way of life; VOICE OF THE NORTH

GRAHAM Drury has vowed to keep up his reputation as the hatchet man of speedway if any of his Birmingham riders don't meet his expectations.

It's tough love for Drury duty

Loners and loneliness inform all these perfs, but none more so than George Clooney's (Oscar winner for "Syriana") heartbreaking turn as the debonair, soulless yet ultimately self-aware hatchet man in "Up in the Air," a constant traveler happiest at 30,000 feet, insulated from messy human drama.

Leading actor: Loners join the crowd of perfected perfs that tell us much about the men

BAGHDAD: Saddam Hussein's hatchet man Chemical Ali, on death row for genocide over the gassing of tens of thousands of Kurds in the 1980s, is still in US custody, a military spokesman said yesterday.

'Chemical Ali' still in US custody

MANCHESTER United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz has apologised to Martin Taylor for suggesting the Birmingham defender was a hatchet man.