A machete is a kind of large knife that is used in tropical areas to cut through jungle or to harvest sugarcane. It is also used as a tool for cutting up food, or for carving wood.
Because machetes are so common in tropical regions they are also used as a weapon.
A magazine is a kind of book that is printed in full colour on glossy paper. They are smaller than newspapers. Magazines have a lot of pictures, and are usually printed once a week or once a month.
Maggot is the common name for the larvae of flies. Flies typically lay their eggs or put live maggots onto rotting food that they find. Maggots are very commonly seen in carrion. The maggots eat the food, grow bigger and then pupate and turn into flies.
A magnet is material that produces a magnetic field. Because of this field, magnets can both attract and repel each other (depending on which end of the magnet you use) and can attract ferromagnetic materials, such as iron. The small pieces of iron filing on the magnet in the picture follow the shape of the magnet's magnetic field.
A magnifying glass is a glass lens mounted in a frame with a handle. When you look through a magnifying glass at something, it appears much bigger. You use magnifying glasses to see details on things you couldn't normally see.
Magpies are a black and white bird related to the crow. They are very intelligent. They eat dead animals they find, insects and anything else they find that they can eat.
The magpie in the picture is an Australian magpie.
Maidenhair ferns are a popular houseplant. They have very distinctive fronds that don't look at all like 'traditional' fern fronds. The fronds look more like leaves, but they still start tightly curled up like other ferns. Like most ferns they like damp, shady places.
Maine coons are one of the largest cat breeds. They are from the United States, where it is thought they might have come about from local cats breeding with bobcats. They are gentle cats, with long, flowing hair and sometimes tufts on the ends of their ears.
Malachite is copper carbonate, and is a bright green colour, often with bands and swirls of different shades of green. The patterning makes it quite attractive polished and can be used in jewelry.
