acquire vs axe

acquire

verb
  • To gain, usually by one's own exertions; to get as one's own 

  • To sample signals and convert them into digital values. 

  • To contract. 

  • To get. 

axe

verb
  • To fell or chop with an axe. 

  • To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel. 

  • To furnish with an axle. 

noun
  • A position, interest, or reason in buying and selling stock, often with ulterior motives. 

  • An ancient weapon consisting of a head that has one or two blades and a long handle. 

  • A dismissal or rejection. 

  • A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc. consisting of a heavy head flattened to a blade on one side, and a handle attached to it. 

  • A drastic reduction or cutback. 

  • A gigging musician's particular instrument, especially a guitar in rock music or a saxophone in jazz. 

How often have the words acquire and axe occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )