axe vs remove

axe

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

  • To furnish with an axle. 

  • To fell or chop with an axe. 

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. 

remove

verb
  • To delete. 

  • To discard, set aside, especially something abstract (a thought, feeling, etc.). 

  • To murder. 

  • To dismiss or discharge from office. 

  • To move something or someone from one place to another, especially to take away. 

  • To dismiss a batsman. 

noun
  • Distance in time or space; interval. 

  • A step or gradation (as in the phrase "at one remove") 

  • (at some public schools) A division of the school, especially the form prior to last 

  • Emotional distance or indifference. 

  • The act of resetting a horse's shoe. 

  • The act of removing something. 

  • A dish served to replace an earlier one during a meal; a part of a new course. 

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