mat
1 Americannoun
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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.
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a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.
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Sports.
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the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.
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a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.
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a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.
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a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.
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Building Trades.
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a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.
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a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.
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verb (used with object)
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to cover with or as if with mats or matting.
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to form into a mat, as by interweaving.
verb (used without object)
idioms
noun
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
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the intaglio, usually of papiermâché, impressed from type or a cut, from which a stereotype plate is cast.
abbreviation
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matins.
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maturity.
abbreviation
noun
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a thick flat piece of fabric used as a floor covering, a place to wipe one's shoes, etc
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a smaller pad of material used to protect a surface from the heat, scratches, etc, of an object placed upon it
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a large piece of thick padded material put on the floor as a surface for wrestling, judo, or gymnastic sports
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a Māori cloak
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to abandon urban civilization
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any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangled
a mat of grass and weeds
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the solid part of a lace design
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a heavy net of cable or rope laid over a blasting site to prevent the scatter of debris
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a heavy mesh of reinforcement in a concrete slab
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(esp US) a steel or concrete raft serving as a footing to support a post
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civil engineering short for mattress
verb
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to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass
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(tr) to cover with a mat or mats
noun
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a border of cardboard, cloth, etc, placed around a picture to act as a frame or as a contrast between picture and frame
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a surface, as on metal or paint
adjective
verb
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to furnish (a picture) with a mat
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to give (a surface) a mat finish
noun
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
- matless adjective
Etymology
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 mat4
First recorded in 1920–25; shortened form of matrix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A jillion little game trails twisted their way through jungles of wild cane and matted masses of elder.
From Literature
Like many others, he had brought a dish to share with his neighbours, sitting outside on a mat.
From Barron's
Sometimes, classes are held in an open area in a slum with students seated on mats and carpets.
From BBC
He made sleeping mats stuffed with rustling palm fronds, a table and two stools, a desk, bookcases and shelves for his science stuff, coconut-shell bowls, and seashell plates.
From Literature
Its larvae inhabit damp mats of moss and algae along the Antarctic Peninsula.
From Science Daily
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.
