machete

noun

ma·​chete mə-ˈshe-tē 

-ˈche-;

-ˈshet

: a large heavy knife used for cutting sugarcane and underbrush and as a weapon

Examples of machete in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Oxnard police shot a man who was allegedly armed with a machete and making threats outside of a restaurant on Monday afternoon. —Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

Inside the Toyota, troopers allegedly found a gun, an SOG tomahawk ax and a 12-inch Sogfari black machete, state police said. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026

Duran's supporters allege that Duprey was a known member of the Trinitarios gang — which has been blamed for machete attacks in the Bronx in the past. —Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2026

Man with machete attacked three people at the 42nd Street-Grand Central subway station Saturday morning before police fatally shot him. —Julie Walker, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish

First Known Use

1575, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for machete

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy

Kids Definition

machete

noun

ma·​chete mə-ˈshet-ē 

-ˈchet-ē;

mə-ˈshet

: a large heavy knife used especially for cutting sugarcane and underbrush and as a weapon