hatchet man

noun

1

: one hired for murder, coercion, or attack

2

a

: a writer specializing in invective

b

: a person hired to perform underhanded or unscrupulous tasks (as to ruin someone's reputation)

Examples of hatchet man in a Sentence

She doesn't criticize her opponent's character directly. She has her hatchet men in the media do it for her.

He was fired by his boss's hatchet man.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, there have been mass firings at the FBI, reportedly instigated by Trump hatchet man Kash Patel, who awaits Senate confirmation to head the FBI. —Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2025

Back home, more pink slips for federal employees go out and the scrutiny of Elon Musk's role as the hatchet man for those agencies intensifies. —CBS News, 16 Feb. 2025

Musician and producer Grimes made a rare comment involving her ex-partner and father to her three kids, Elon Musk, after their 4-year-old son appeared alongside the tech mogul turned government hatchet man at the White House on Wednesday. —Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2025

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, another of President Vladimir Putin’s hatchet men, advised Americans to vote for Donald Trump or risk being dragged into a nuclear war. —Mitchell A. Orenstein, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2016

In the twenty-tens, the brothers took up solo careers; Malice converted to Christianity (becoming No Malice), as Pusha T became a hatchet man for Kanye West. —The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2023

The Mondale inner circle wanted Ferraro to play the traditional running-mate role of hatchet man. —Maureen Dowd New York Times, Star Tribune, 10 Aug. 2020

In a role reversal from their eight years together in the White House, Barack Obama has become Joe Biden’s wingman and, in his understated way, his hatchet man. —W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2020

To secure the 1800 presidential election, Thomas Jefferson infamously hired a hatchet man named James Callender to spread false rumors about John Adams wanting a war with France. —A. G. Hamilton, National Review, 25 Oct. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hatchet man

• businessman
• canavan
• caravan
• constantan
• dragoman
• fisherman
• handyman
• harmattan
• journeyman
• marianne
• middleman
• minivan