MATS

[ mats ]

/ mæts /

noun

Military Air Transport Service.

Words nearby MATS

matronalia, matronize, matronly, matronymic, matryoshka, MATS, matsu, matsu-take, matsudo, matsuo basho, matsuoka

Definition for mats (2 of 6)

mat ¹

[ 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.

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

Definition for mats (3 of 6)

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 mats (4 of 6)

mat ³

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

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

matte¹.

Definition for mats (5 of 6)

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 mats (6 of 6)

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

Example sentences from the Web for mats

Gingerly, about 30 couples lay down and squatted on mats and rugs for the mass face-sit.

Britain’s Record-Breaking Face-Sitting Porn Protest |Nico Hines |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In two-thirds of the room, delegates sat in folding chairs across the basketball court, which was covered by mats.

The Bizarro World Of Iowa’s GOP Convention |Ben Jacobs |June 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
There were mats everywhere and it was like a big rainy-day sleepover with most of the cast.

Orange Is the New Black’s Kimiko Glenn on Hippie Brook Soso and Chapel Sex with Natasha Lyonne |Marlow Stern |June 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Chili peppers were everywhere, drying on mats, on roofs, and in fields.

A Little Too Off the Beaten Path in Burma |Katya Cengel |June 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Most families live on the second floor of their wood homes, sleeping, eating, and socializing on mats in the main room.

A Little Too Off the Beaten Path in Burma |Katya Cengel |June 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
This divan is protected from rain by the semi-dome, and from the sun by curtains or mats hung across the arched opening.

A History of Art in Chalda & Assyria, v. 1 |Georges Perrot
And then Mats, quite mollified, was speaking in her artless way of Hugo Canning, who had so obviously been on her mind all along.

V. V.'s Eyes |Henry Sydnor Harrison
Here a tent had been pitched, the floor of which was covered with mats and rugs for me to rest on.

In the Forbidden Land |Arnold Henry Savage Landor
It also serves as a bedroom, and at night the mats for sleeping are spread out, and here the inmates sleep.

Children of Borneo |Edwin Herbert Gomes
The mats, on which spices had been drying, must also be put in a safe place.

Our Little Siamese Cousin |Mary Hazelton Wade

British Dictionary definitions for mats (1 of 5)

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 mats (2 of 5)

matte ²

/ (mæt) /

noun

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

British Dictionary definitions for mats (3 of 5)

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 mats (4 of 5)

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 mats (5 of 5)

mat ³

/ (mæt) /

noun

printing informal short for matrix (def. 5)

Idioms and Phrases with mats

mat

see go to the mat; welcome mat.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

MATS

noun

Words nearby MATS

Definition for mats (2 of 6)

noun

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

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

Origin of mat

OTHER WORDS FROM mat

Definition for mats (3 of 6)

noun

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

Origin of mat

Definition for mats (4 of 6)

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

Definition for mats (5 of 6)

noun Printing.

Origin of mat

Definition for mats (6 of 6)

or mat, matt

adjective

noun

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

Origin of matte

Words related to mats

Example sentences from the Web for mats

British Dictionary definitions for mats (1 of 5)

noun

Word Origin for matte

British Dictionary definitions for mats (2 of 5)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for mats (3 of 5)

noun

verb mats, matting or matted

Derived forms of mat

Word Origin for mat

British Dictionary definitions for mats (4 of 5)

noun

adjective

verb mats, matting or matted (tr)

Word Origin for mat

British Dictionary definitions for mats (5 of 5)

noun

Idioms and Phrases with mats