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mat

 - 17 dictionary results
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mat

1  [mat] noun, verb, mat⋅ted, mat⋅ting.
Use mat in a Sentence
–noun
1. a piece of fabric made of plaited or woven rushes, straw, hemp, or similar fiber, or of some other pliant material, as rubber, used as a protective covering on a floor or other surface, to wipe the shoes on, etc.
2. a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.
3. Sports.
a. the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.
b. a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.
4. a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.
5. a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.
6. a slablike footing of concrete, esp. one for an entire building.
7. a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.
–verb (used with object)
8. to cover with or as if with mats or matting.
9. to form into a mat, as by interweaving.
–verb (used without object)
10. to become entangled; form tangled masses.
—Idiom
11. go to the mat, to contend or struggle in a determined or unyielding way: The President is going to the mat with Congress over the proposed budget cuts.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE matte < LL matta mat of rushes < Sem; cf. Heb mittāh bed

Related forms:
matless, adjective
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mat

2  [mat] noun, verb, mat⋅ted, mat⋅ting.
–noun
1. a piece of cardboard or other material placed over or under a drawing, painting, photograph, etc., to serve as a frame or provide a border between the picture and the frame.
–verb (used with object)
2. to provide (a picture) with a mat.
Origin:
1835–40; appar. mat 1 , influenced by matte 1

mat

3  [mat]
–adjective, noun, verb, mat⋅ted, mat⋅ting.
matte 1 .

mat

4  [mat]
–noun Printing.
1. the intaglio, usually of papiermâché, impressed from type or a cut, from which a stereotype plate is cast.
2. matrix (def. 8).
Origin:
1920–25; shortened form of matrix

mat.

 
1. matins.
2. maturity.

M.A.T.

 
Master of Arts in Teaching.

matte

1  [mat] adjective, noun, verb, mat⋅ted, mat⋅ting.
–adjective
1. having a dull or lusterless surface: matte paint; a matte complexion; a photograph with a matte finish.
–noun
2. a dull or dead surface, often slightly roughened, as on metals, paint, paper, or glass.
3. a tool for producing such a surface.
4. Metallurgy. an unfinished metallic product of the smelting of certain sulfide ores, esp. those of copper.
5. Movies. matte shot.
–verb (used with object)
6. to finish with a matte surface.
Also, mat, matt.

Origin:
1640–50; < F mat (masc.), matte (fem.), OF < LL mattus moist, soft, weak, perh. < *maditus, deriv. of L madēre to be wet
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mat
mat 1   (māt)   
n.  

  1. A flat piece of coarse fabric or other material used for wiping one's shoes or feet, or in various other forms as a floor covering.

  2. A small flat piece of decorated material placed under a lamp, dish of food, or other object.

  3. Sports A floor pad to protect athletes, as in wrestling or gymnastics.

  4. A densely woven or thickly tangled mass: a mat of hair.

  5. The solid part of a lace design.

  6. A heavy woven net of rope or wire cable placed over a blasting site to keep debris from scattering.

v.   mat·ted, mat·ting, mats

v.   tr.

  1. To cover, protect, or decorate with mats or a mat.

  2. To pack or interweave into a thick mass: High winds matted the leaves against the base of the fence.

v.   intr.
To be packed or interwoven into a thick mass; become entangled.

[Middle English, from Old English matte, from Late Latin matta, of Phoenician origin; see nṭy in Semitic roots.]
mat 2   (māt)   
n.  

  1. A decorative border placed around a picture to serve as a frame or provide contrast between the picture and the frame.

  2. also matte

    1. A dull, often rough finish, as of paint, glass, metal, or paper.

    2. A special tool for producing such a surface or finish.

  3. Printing See matrix.

tr.v.   mat·ted, mat·ting, mats

  1. To put a mat around (a picture).

  2. To produce a dull finish on.

adj.   also matte
Having a dull finish.

[From French, dull, from Old French, defeated, withered, perhaps from Latin mattus, stupefied, senseless, possibly from *maditus, past participle of madēre, to be wet.]
MAT  
abbr.  Master of Arts in Teaching
ma·trix   (mā'trĭks)   
n.   pl. ma·tri·ces (mā'trĭ-sēz', māt'rĭ-) or ma·trix·es

  1. A situation or surrounding substance within which something else originates, develops, or is contained: "Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every form of freedom" (Benjamin N. Cardozo).

  2. The womb.

  3. Anatomy

    1. The formative cells or tissue of a fingernail, toenail, or tooth.

    2. See ground substance.

    3. The solid matter in which a fossil or crystal is embedded.

    4. Groundmass.

    5. Mathematics A rectangular array of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to mathematical operations.

    6. Something resembling such an array, as in the regular formation of elements into columns and rows.

    7. A mold used in stereotyping and designed to receive positive impressions of type or illustrations from which metal plates can be cast. Also called mat2.

    8. A metal plate used for casting typefaces.

  4. Geology

    1. The solid matter in which a fossil or crystal is embedded.

    2. Groundmass.

    3. Mathematics A rectangular array of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to mathematical operations.

    4. Something resembling such an array, as in the regular formation of elements into columns and rows.

    5. A mold used in stereotyping and designed to receive positive impressions of type or illustrations from which metal plates can be cast. Also called mat2.

    6. A metal plate used for casting typefaces.

  5. A mold or die.

  6. The principal metal in an alloy, as the iron in steel.

  7. A binding substance, as cement in concrete.

    1. Mathematics A rectangular array of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to mathematical operations.

    2. Something resembling such an array, as in the regular formation of elements into columns and rows.

    3. A mold used in stereotyping and designed to receive positive impressions of type or illustrations from which metal plates can be cast. Also called mat2.

    4. A metal plate used for casting typefaces.

  9. Computer Science The network of intersections between input and output leads in a computer, functioning as an encoder or a decoder.

  10. Printing

    1. A mold used in stereotyping and designed to receive positive impressions of type or illustrations from which metal plates can be cast. Also called mat2.

    2. A metal plate used for casting typefaces.

  11. An electroplated impression of a phonograph record used to make duplicate records.


[Middle English matrice, from Old French, from Late Latin mātrīx, mātrīc-, from Latin, breeding-animal, from māter, mātr-, mother; see māter- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

mat 
O.E. matte, from L.L. matta "mat made of rushes" (4c.), probably from Punic or Phoenician (cf. Heb. mittah "bed, couch"). Meaning "piece of padded flooring used in gymnastics or wrestling" is attested from 1903. Matted "tangled and lying flat" (of hair, etc.) is from 1613.

matte  (adj.)
1648, "lusterless," from Fr. mat "dull, dead surface," from O.Fr. mat "beaten down, withered," probably from L. mattus "maudlin with drink," from madere "to be wet or sodden, be drunk," from PIE base *mad- "to be wet, drip" (see mastectomy). Noun sense "backing for a picture" is an 1845 borrowing from Fr.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1mat
Variants: or matt or matte /'mat/
Function: adjective
1 : lacking or deprived of lusteror gloss : having a usually smooth even surface free from shine or highlights
2 : having a coarse rough rugose or granular surface matcolonies on agar>

Main Entry: 2mat
Function: noun
: a mat colony of bacteria
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

mat

see go to the mat; welcome mat.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
MAT
Master of Arts in Teaching
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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