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View synonyms for mat

mat

1

[ mat ]

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.
    1. the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.
    2. 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. Building Trades.
    1. a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.
    2. a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.

verb (used with object)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.
  1. to cover with or as if with mats or matting.
  2. to form into a mat, as by interweaving.

verb (used without object)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.
  1. to become entangled; form tangled masses.

mat

2

[ mat ]

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)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.
  1. to provide (a picture) with a mat.

mat

3

[ mat ]

adjective

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

mat

4

[ mat ]

noun

, Printing.
  1. the intaglio, usually of papiermâché, impressed from type or a cut, from which a stereotype plate is cast.

mat.

5

abbreviation for

  1. matins.
  2. maturity.

M.A.T.

6

abbreviation for

  1. Master of Arts in Teaching.

mat

1

/ mæt /

noun

  1. a thick flat piece of fabric used as a floor covering, a place to wipe one's shoes, etc
  2. a smaller pad of material used to protect a surface from the heat, scratches, etc, of an object placed upon it
  3. a large piece of thick padded material put on the floor as a surface for wrestling, judo, or gymnastic sports
  4. a Māori cloak
  5. go back to the mat
    go back to the mat to abandon urban civilization
  6. any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangled

    a mat of grass and weeds

  7. the solid part of a lace design
    1. a heavy net of cable or rope laid over a blasting site to prevent the scatter of debris
    2. a heavy mesh of reinforcement in a concrete slab
    3. (esp US) a steel or concrete raft serving as a footing to support a post
  9. See mattress
    civil engineering short for mattress

verb

  1. to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass
  2. tr to cover with a mat or mats

mat

2

/ mæt /

noun

  1. See matrix
    informal.
    printing short for matrix

mat

3

/ mæt /

noun

  1. a border of cardboard, cloth, etc, placed around a picture to act as a frame or as a contrast between picture and frame
  2. a surface, as on metal or paint

adjective

  1. having a dull, lustreless, or roughened surface

verb

  1. to furnish (a picture) with a mat
  2. to give (a surface) a mat finish

mat.

4

abbreviation for

  1. matinée

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Derived Forms

  • ˈmatless, adjective

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Other Words From

  • matless adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of mat1

First recorded before 900; Middle English mat(te), Old English matt, matta, matte, from Late Latin matta “mat (of rushes),” from a Semitic language; compare Phoenician maṭṭa, Hebrew miṭṭāh “bed”

Origin of mat2

First recorded in 1845–50; apparently mat 1, influenced by matte 1

Origin of mat3

First recorded in 1920–25; shortened form of matrix

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Word History and Origins

Origin of mat1

Old English matte; related to Old High German matta

Origin of mat2

C17: from French, literally: dead; see checkmate

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing mat

see go to the mat ; welcome mat .

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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