mattress

[ ma-tris ]
See synonyms for mattress on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a large pad for supporting the reclining body, used as or on a bed, consisting of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, that contains hair, straw, cotton, foam rubber, etc., or a framework of metal springs.

  1. a mat woven of brush, poles, or similar material, used to prevent erosion of the surface of dikes, jetties, embankments, dams, etc.

  2. a layer of concrete placed on bare ground, as to provide a footing; mat.

  3. a layer of any material used to cushion, protect, reinforce, or the like.

Origin of mattress

1
1250–1300; Middle English materas<Old French <Italian materasso<Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mattress in a sentence

  • The boys slept that night on mattresses laid on the floor of one of the big empty rooms of the house.

    Belgium | George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
  • But we passed up it and stopped, for on the carpeted mattresses before the throne lay Craney, all alone.

    The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton
  • They landed very safely, and carried Mrs Seagrave up to the tent, and laid her down on one of the mattresses.

    Masterman Ready | Captain Frederick Marryat
  • Round the three walls is a raised daīs called "lewan," covered with rugs or mattresses, on which the guests recline.

    Peeps at Many Lands: Egypt | R. Talbot Kelly
  • She saw brown arms shaking slashed mattresses and pillows out the windows.

    Shaman | Robert Shea

British Dictionary definitions for mattress

mattress

/ (ˈmætrɪs) /


noun
  1. a large flat pad with a strong cover, filled with straw, foam rubber, etc, and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or as part of a bed

  2. Also called: Dutch mattress a woven mat of brushwood, poles, etc, used to protect an embankment, dyke, etc, from scour

  1. a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footing: Sometimes shortened to: mat

  2. a network of reinforcing rods or expanded metal sheeting, used in reinforced concrete

  3. civil engineering another name for blinding (def. 3)

Origin of mattress

1
C13: via Old French from Italian materasso, from Arabic almatrah place where something is thrown

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