ax to grind

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It has no ideological ax to grind, although it makes a persuasive case for the expansiveness of American poetry as a parallel to the definition of Americanness itself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

So, I have a little bit of an ax to grind about it.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2025

He didn’t come off as a man with an ax to grind, but a small, petty individual who had been taken advantage of by a much more powerful man he all but worshipped.

From Slate • May 14, 2024

The prosecutors pushed back that Yeartie was a disgruntled former employee with an ax to grind against Willis.

From Salon • Feb. 16, 2024

I have gathered that he did so out of pure patriotism; he realized that a Republic was the best thing for his country, and had no personal ax to grind whatever.

From The City in the Clouds by Gull, C. Ranger