mat

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

noun

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.

a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.

Sports.

the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.
a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.

a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.

a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.

a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.

a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.

verb (used with object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

to cover with or as if with mats or matting.

to form into a mat, as by interweaving.

verb (used without object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

to become entangled; form tangled masses.

Idioms for mat

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 of mat

before 900; Middle English, Old English matte < Late Latin matta mat of rushes < Semitic; compare Hebrew mittāh bed

OTHER WORDS FROM mat

mat·less, adjective

Words nearby mat

masur, masuria, masurian, masurium, masvingo, mat, mat grass, mat., mat.e., mata hari, mata-mata

Definition for mat (2 of 7)

mat ²

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

noun

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.

to provide (a picture) with a mat.

Origin of mat

1835–40; apparently mat¹, influenced by matte¹

Definition for mat (3 of 7)

mat ³

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

adjective, noun, verb, mat·ted, mat·ting.

matte¹.

Definition for mat (4 of 7)

mat ⁴

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

noun Printing.

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

matrix(def 8).

Origin of mat

⁴

First recorded in 1920–25; shortened form of matrix

Definition for mat (5 of 7)

matte ¹

or mat, matt

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

adjective

having a dull or lusterless surface: matte paint; a matte complexion; a photograph with a matte finish.

noun

a dull or dead surface, often slightly roughened, as on metals, paint, paper, or glass.

a tool for producing such a surface.

Metallurgy. an unfinished metallic product of the smelting of certain sulfide ores, especially those of copper.

Movies. matte shot.

verb (used with object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

to finish with a matte surface.

Origin of matte

1640–50; < French mat (masculine), matte (feminine), Old French < Late Latin mattus moist, soft, weak, perhaps < *maditus, derivative of Latin madēre to be wet

Definition for mat (6 of 7)

mat.

matins.

maturity.

Definition for mat (7 of 7)

M.A.T.

Master of Arts in Teaching.

Example sentences from the Web for mat

If they were well thought through, with a clear plan of execution, she was in, and ready to go to the mat.

The Valerie Jarrett I Know: How She Saved the Obama Campaign and Why She’s Indispensable |Joshua DuBois |November 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
By remarkable contrast, younger musicians who really go to the mat for political controversy can become superstars.

The GOP’s Real Ted Nugent Problem |James Poulos |February 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They can go to the mat for him with donors and insiders and pull every string they can to wire a speakership vote.

It's All on Boehner |Michael Tomasky |October 3, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
My housekeeper had been there and left the key under the mat for me, so they took the key, made a copy of it, and brought it back.

Paris Hilton on ‘The Bling Ring,’ Kim Kardashian, and Her Cash Money Records Album |Marlow Stern |June 12, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Republicans are likely to go to the mat to stall these picks, and Reid has now laid out a red line of his own.

Harry Reid's Good Idea: Kill Filibusters on Appointments |Justin Green |May 17, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Mat Gleason, superintendent of the Oro Ranch, loafed, his back against a post.

Overland Red |Henry Herbert Knibbs
She then gave me food, and placed me on a mat, where I soon fell asleep.

Won from the Waves |W.H.G. Kingston
O Hara San pouted her scarlet lips at him and laughed softly as she subsided on to a mat on the floor and clapped her hands.

The Shadow of the East |E. M. Hull
If you put the mat outside the door, he tore the corner of the tablecloth.

Dew Drops Vol. 37. No. 17, April 26, 1914 |Various
The women as well as the men Sometimes cover themselves from the rain by a mat worn over the Sholders.

The Journals of Lewis and Clark |Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

British Dictionary definitions for mat (1 of 6)

mat ¹

/ (mæt) /

noun

a thick flat piece of fabric used as a floor covering, a place to wipe one's shoes, etc

a smaller pad of material used to protect a surface from the heat, scratches, etc, of an object placed upon it

a large piece of thick padded material put on the floor as a surface for wrestling, judo, or gymnastic sports

NZ a Māori cloak

go back to the mat NZ to abandon urban civilization

any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangled a mat of grass and weeds

the solid part of a lace design

a heavy net of cable or rope laid over a blasting site to prevent the scatter of debris
a heavy mesh of reinforcement in a concrete slab
(esp US) a steel or concrete raft serving as a footing to support a post

civil engineering short for mattress (def. 3)

verb mats, matting or matted

to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass

(tr) to cover with a mat or mats

Derived forms of mat

matless, adjective

Word Origin for mat

Old English matte; related to Old High German matta

British Dictionary definitions for mat (2 of 6)

mat ²

/ (mæt) /

noun

a border of cardboard, cloth, etc, placed around a picture to act as a frame or as a contrast between picture and frame

a surface, as on metal or paint

adjective

having a dull, lustreless, or roughened surface

verb mats, matting or matted (tr)

to furnish (a picture) with a mat

to give (a surface) a mat finish

Also (for senses 2, 4): matt

Word Origin for mat

C17: from French, literally: dead; see checkmate

British Dictionary definitions for mat (3 of 6)

mat ³

/ (mæt) /

noun

printing informal short for matrix (def. 5)

British Dictionary definitions for mat (4 of 6)

mat.

abbreviation for

matinée

British Dictionary definitions for mat (5 of 6)

matte ¹

/ (mæt) /

noun

an impure fused material consisting of metal sulphides produced during the smelting of a sulphide ore

Word Origin for matte

C19: from French

British Dictionary definitions for mat (6 of 6)

matte ²

/ (mæt) /

noun

films television a mask used to blank out part of an image so that another image can be superimposed

Idioms and Phrases with mat

mat

see go to the mat; welcome mat.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

mat

noun

verb (used with object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

verb (used without object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

Idioms for mat

Origin of mat

OTHER WORDS FROM mat

Words nearby mat

Definition for mat (2 of 7)

noun

verb (used with object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

Origin of mat

Definition for mat (3 of 7)

adjective, noun, verb, mat·ted, mat·ting.

Definition for mat (4 of 7)

noun Printing.

Origin of mat

Definition for mat (5 of 7)

or mat, matt

adjective

noun

verb (used with object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

Origin of matte

Definition for mat (6 of 7)

Definition for mat (7 of 7)

Words related to mat

Example sentences from the Web for mat

British Dictionary definitions for mat (1 of 6)

noun

verb mats, matting or matted

Derived forms of mat

Word Origin for mat

British Dictionary definitions for mat (2 of 6)

noun

adjective

verb mats, matting or matted (tr)

Word Origin for mat

British Dictionary definitions for mat (3 of 6)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for mat (4 of 6)

abbreviation for

British Dictionary definitions for mat (5 of 6)

noun

Word Origin for matte

British Dictionary definitions for mat (6 of 6)

noun

Idioms and Phrases with mat