axel

UK: /ˈæksəl/ US: (ak′səl)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ax•el  (ak′səl), n. [Figure Skating.]

1. Sport a jump performed by a skater leaping from the front outer edge of one skate into the air to make 1½ rotations of the body and landing on the back outer edge of the other skate.

• after Axel Paulsen (1855–1938), Norwegian figure skater, who popularized the maneuver 1925–30

Ax•el  (ak′səl), n. 

1. a male given name.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

axel / ˈæksəl/ noun

1. a jump in which the skater takes off from the forward outside edge of one skate, makes one and a half, two and a half, or three and a half turns in the air, and lands on the backward outside edge of the other skate

Etymology: 20th Century: named after Axel Paulsen (1855–1938), Norwegian skater