A machete was a type of large cleaver-like tool typically used for cutting through vegetation. It could be wielded as a weapon, like a sword.
In the Priam IV test at Starfleet Academy circa 2358, Cadet Tasha Yar retrieved a machete from a crashed Starfleet escape pod, which she used on her journey through the Priam IV jungles and to battle a reptilian Orion slaver character. (TNG novel: Survivors)