machete

noun

Definition of machetenext
as in knife

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of machete The call details stated that a man was attacking people with a machete at that location, police said. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Aug. 2026 Photograph by Tajette O’Halloran for The New Yorker Two months later, Luwi was playing cards with friends under a tree when a man came from behind and struck him in the head with a machete. — Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 The impossible-to-murder pair chase each other with a machete, shotgun, and chainsaw throughout the fantastically campy film, which pays homage to the classics like Death Becomes Her. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2026 Late on July 25, a driver plowed a van into people a few hundred yards from the closing party of the Berlin Pride event before attacking others with what appears to have been a machete. — Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for machete
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machete
  1. knife
  2. dagger
  3. pocketknife
  4. bayonet
  5. cutlass
  6. switchblade
  7. stiletto
  8. poniard
Noun
  • The hijackers used small knives to threaten passengers, attack crew members and seize the planes.
    — Rio Yamat, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Prosecutors said the first victim needed specialty surgery to remove the knife from his back, and Grunhaus was also hospitalized with serious injuries.
    — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of knife
Noun
  • This was discontinued when SOE chiefs realized that a dagger would be the first thing taken from a prisoner.
    — David Szondy August 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The painting, now owned by MoMA, shows a mélange of people—soldiers, civilians, field workers—and animals, as well as daggers.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of dagger
Noun
  • Cody Lawrence also said a pocketknife fell out of his sweatshirt during the struggle, so his father may have been stabbed.
    — Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • My grandfather, PopPop, is 99 and still shucks oysters using a bandana draped over one hand and a pocketknife in the other.
    — Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 31 July 2026
Definition of pocketknife
Noun
  • Both his suggestion and the jolly appreciation seem out of tune with the situation ‘far from home’, which may be a military manoeuvre involving mock battles and bayonet practice, or a preparation for actual combat.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
  • One of the standout features of these new headphones is their special locking cable, which uses a secure bayonet connection that’s designed to stay firmly attached during use.
    — Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of bayonet
Noun
  • The workers blamed Landi — who was still in charge — for their troubles, and an image of Landi posing, pirate-style, with a cartoon-villain expression and a cutlass between his teeth became a symbol for Eutelia’s misdeeds.
    — Atossa Araxia Abrahamian Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
  • The ultimate prop was the pirate flag, which could be decorated with a skull and crossbones (as in the classic Jolly Roger design), bleeding hearts, hourglasses, spears, cutlasses and skeletons.
    — Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024
Definition of cutlass
Noun
  • Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University (of no relation to the candidate), sometimes jokes that Roy Cooper is like Mister Rogers, if Mister Rogers carried a switchblade.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
  • If the trade does go through as is, then other questions about the Raptors sprout up — namely, what is to come of RJ Barrett, the 26-year-old switchblade entering the final season of his contract and eligible for an extension this summer.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of switchblade
Noun
  • The style is a round-toe stiletto mule with a soft see-through Plexi upper.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2026
  • While a knockout voice is one way to capture an audience’s attention, a splash of sequins and a killer stiletto helped stick the landing.
    — Bianca Betancourt, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of stiletto
Noun
  • This includes openly carrying the famous Jim Bowie knife, as well as daggers, dirks, throwing knives, stilettos, poniards, swords, machetes and spears.
    — John Tufts, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2017
Definition of poniard

Browse Nearby Words

maces
machete
machetes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Machete.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machete. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stigma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All