A machete is a cleaver-like tool that looks like a very large bread knife. The blade is about a 1.5 - 2.0 feet (0.5 m - 0.6 m) long. An English equivalent term is matchet.
The machete is normally used to cut through thick vegetation such as sugar cane or jungle undergrowth, but it can also be used as an offensive weapon. In southern Africa, the same tool is known as a panga. The difference largely being that a panga has a broader blade and a squared off tip.
