ice ax vs axe

ice ax and axe both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
ice ax	Yes	No	No	No
axe	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, axe is a hypernym of ice ax; that is, axe is a word with a broader meaning than ice ax:

Other hypernyms of ice ax include ax, climbing equipment, rock-climbing equipment.

ice ax (noun)	axe (noun)
an ax used by mountain climbers for cutting footholds in ice	an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle

ice ax (verb)	axe (verb)
	terminate
	chop or split with an ax