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Synonyms

mate

1 American  
[meyt] / meɪt /

noun

  1. a partner in marriage; spouse.

  2. one member of a pair of mated animals.

  3. one of a pair.

    I can't find the mate to this glove.

  4. a counterpart.

  5. an associate; fellow worker; comrade; partner (often used in combination).

    classmate; roommate.

  6. friend; buddy; pal (often used as an informal term of address).

    Let me give you a hand with that, mate.

  7. Nautical.

    1. first mate.

    2. any of a number of officers of varying degrees of rank subordinate to the master of a merchant ship.

    3. an assistant to a warrant officer or other functionary on a ship.

  8. an aide or helper, as to an artisan; factotum.

  9. a gear, rack, or worm engaging with another gear or worm.

  10. Archaic. an equal in reputation; peer; match.

verb (used with object)

mated, mating

  1. to join as a mate or as mates.

  2. to bring (animals) together for breeding purposes.

  3. to match or marry.

  4. to join, fit, or associate suitably.

    to mate thought with daring action.

  5. to connect or link.

    a telephone system mated to a computerized information service.

  6. to treat as comparable.

verb (used without object)

mated, mating

  1. to associate as a mate or as mates.

  2. (of animals) to copulate.

  3. (of animals) to pair for the purpose of breeding.

  4. to marry.

  5. (of a gear, rack, or worm) to engage with another gear or worm; mesh.

  6. Archaic. to consort; keep company.

mate 2 American  
[meyt] / meɪt /

noun

mated, mating

  1. checkmate.

mate 3 American  
[mah-tey, mat-ey] / ˈmɑ teɪ, ˈmæt eɪ /

noun

  1. a tealike South American beverage made from the dried leaves of an evergreen tree.

  2. a South American tree, Ilex paraguariensis, that is the source of this beverage.

  3. the dried leaves of this tree.

mate 1 British  
/ meɪt /

noun

  1. the sexual partner of an animal

  2. a marriage partner

    1. informal a friend, usually of the same sex: often used between males in direct address

    2. (in combination) an associate, colleague, fellow sharer, etc

      a classmate

      a flatmate

  4. one of a pair of matching items

  5. nautical

    1. short for first mate

    2. any officer below the master on a commercial ship

    3. a warrant officer's assistant on a ship

  6. (in some trades) an assistant

    a plumber's mate

  7. archaic a suitable associate

  8. slang the reduced rate charged for work done for a friend

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to pair (a male and female animal) or (of animals) to pair for reproduction

  2. to marry or join in marriage

  3. (tr) to join as a pair; match

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
maté 2 British  
/ ˈmæteɪ, ˈmɑːteɪ /

noun

  1. an evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, cultivated in South America for its leaves, which contain caffeine: family Aquifoliaceae

  2. a stimulating milky beverage made from the dried leaves of this tree

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mate 3 British  
/ meɪt /

noun

  1. chess See checkmate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • mateless adjective

Etymology

Origin of mate1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mate, maite “friend, companion, shipmate, mate (ship's officer), fellow creature,” from Middle Low German mate, gemate “messmate”, replacing Middle English mette, mete “table companion, messmate, partner,” Old English gemetta “messmate, guest”; meat

Origin of mate2

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb maten, matein, matten “to checkmate, defeat,” from Old French mater, ultimately from Persian; checkmate

Origin of mate3

First recorded in 1710–20; from American Spanish, from Quechua mati, the calabash gourd in which the herb is steeped

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.

But Miss Piggy was my slumber mate well past the time of putting aside childish things and replacing ancient bedclothes.

From Salon

But the new study from geneticists at the University of Pennsylvania suggests the phenomenon has more social origins, and were actually the result of "long-standing mating preferences."

From Barron's

Soon, Fairbanks was cornering office mates with wild talk about good and evil spirits.

From Literature

After bonding and mating, the couple welcomed their first egg this season on Jan. 23.

From Los Angeles Times

The incident comes during coyote mating season, which typically runs from January through March and peaks in February, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Agricultural Commissioner.

From Los Angeles Times

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.