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

Words Nearby mattress

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

How to use mattress in a sentence

  • She folded them tightly in a handkerchief, and thrust the parcel as far as her arm could reach between the mattress and the bed.

    Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
  • Have both a feather bed and a mattress upon the bedstead, that she may place whichever she prefers uppermost.

  • The peasant woman went on her way meditating in what old stocking or under what mattress she should hide her two gold pieces.

    Honey-Bee | Anatole France
  • Mata assisted him to slip down carefully between the mattress and the thin coverlid.

    The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil Fenollosa
  • Then Kari swung his trunk around, pulled down the mattress from his back, and putting it on the ground tried to step on it.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji

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