mat

¹

[ mat ]

noun

1. 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.
2. a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.
3. Sports.
   1. the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.
   2. a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.
4. a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.
5. a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.
6. Building Trades.
   1. a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.
   2. a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.

verb (used with object)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

1. to cover with or as if with mats or matting.
2. to form into a mat, as by interweaving.

verb (used without object)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

1. to become entangled; form tangled masses.

mat

²

[ mat ]

noun

1. 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.

1. to provide (a picture) with a mat.

mat

³

[ mat ]

adjective

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

1. matte ¹.

mat

⁴

[ mat ]

noun

, Printing.

1. the intaglio, usually of papiermâché, impressed from type or a cut, from which a stereotype plate is cast.
2. matrix ( def 8 ).

mat.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. matins.
2. maturity.

M.A.T.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Master of Arts in Teaching.

mat

¹

/ mæt /

noun

1. a border of cardboard, cloth, etc, placed around a picture to act as a frame or as a contrast between picture and frame
2. a surface, as on metal or paint

adjective

1. having a dull, lustreless, or roughened surface

verb

1. to furnish (a picture) with a mat
2. to give (a surface) a mat finish

mat.

²

abbreviation for

1. matinée

mat

³

/ mæt /

noun

1. a thick flat piece of fabric used as a floor covering, a place to wipe one's shoes, etc
2. a smaller pad of material used to protect a surface from the heat, scratches, etc, of an object placed upon it
3. a large piece of thick padded material put on the floor as a surface for wrestling, judo, or gymnastic sports
4. a Māori cloak
5. go back to the mat
   to abandon urban civilization
6. any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangled

   a mat of grass and weeds

7. the solid part of a lace design
8. 1. a heavy net of cable or rope laid over a blasting site to prevent the scatter of debris
   2. a heavy mesh of reinforcement in a concrete slab
   3. (esp US) a steel or concrete raft serving as a footing to support a post
9. civil engineering short for mattress

verb

1. to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass
2. tr to cover with a mat or mats

mat

⁴

/ mæt /

noun

1. informal.
   printing short for matrix

Derived Forms

• ˈmatless, adjective

Other Words From

• matless adjective

Word History and Origins

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 mat³

First recorded in 1920–25; shortened form of matrix

Word History and Origins

Origin of mat¹

C17: from French, literally: dead; see checkmate

Origin of mat²

Old English matte; related to Old High German matta

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing mat

see go to the mat ; welcome mat .

Example Sentences

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

From The Daily Beast

Zalwar Khan returns quickly and begins his morning prayers, spreading out a plastic mat and folding his arms over his chest.

From The Daily Beast

Besides, neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are exactly rolling out the welcome mat for Kerry.

From The Daily Beast

It would just throw himself onto a huge, soft mat covered in a bit of sand, and then it would get up right away.

From The Daily Beast

By remarkable contrast, younger musicians who really go to the mat for political controversy can become superstars.

From The Daily Beast

He had repeated till he was thrice weary the statement that "the Cat lay on the Mat and the Rat came in."

From Project Gutenberg

"Let me get the man something to eat," said Yung Pak as the monk seated himself upon a mat.

From Project Gutenberg

He went back to his praying mat and bent again toward the west, where the Holy Kaaba enshrines the ruby sent down from heaven.

From Project Gutenberg

We here saw an opium-eater, lying stretched out upon a mat on the floor.

From Project Gutenberg

The mat shop is beginning to affect my health: the dust has inflamed my throat, and my eyesight is weakening in the constant dusk.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dishevel