mat

1
[ mat ]
See synonyms for mat on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. Sports.

    • the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.

    • a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.

  2. a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.

  3. a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.

  4. Building Trades.

    • a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.

    • 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.

Idioms about mat

  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.

Origin of mat

1
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”

Other words from mat

  • matless, adjective

Words Nearby mat

Other definitions for mat (2 of 6)

mat2
[ 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.

Origin of mat

2
First recorded in 1845–50; apparently mat1, influenced by matte1

Other definitions for mat (3 of 6)

mat3
[ mat ]

adjective, noun, verb,mat·ted, mat·ting.

Other definitions for mat (4 of 6)

mat4
[ mat ]

nounPrinting.
  1. the intaglio, usually of papiermâché, impressed from type or a cut, from which a stereotype plate is cast.

Origin of mat

4
First recorded in 1920–25; shortened form of matrix

Other definitions for mat. (5 of 6)

mat.

abbreviation
  1. matins.

  2. maturity.

Other definitions for M.A.T. (6 of 6)

M.A.T.

abbreviation
  1. Master of Arts in Teaching.

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

How to use mat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mat (1 of 4)

mat1

/ (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

  1. a large piece of thick padded material put on the floor as a surface for wrestling, judo, or gymnastic sports

  2. NZ a Māori cloak

  3. go back to the mat NZ to abandon urban civilization

  4. any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangled: a mat of grass and weeds

  5. the solid part of a lace design

    • a heavy net of cable or rope laid over a blasting site to prevent the scatter of debris

    • a heavy mesh of reinforcement in a concrete slab

    • (esp US) a steel or concrete raft serving as a footing to support a post

  6. civil engineering short for mattress (def. 3)

verbmats, matting or matted
  1. to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass

  2. (tr) to cover with a mat or mats

Origin of mat

1
Old English matte; related to Old High German matta

Derived forms of mat

  • matless, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for mat (2 of 4)

mat2

/ (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

verbmats, matting or matted (tr)
  1. to furnish (a picture) with a mat

  2. to give (a surface) a mat finish

Origin of mat

2
C17: from French, literally: dead; see checkmate
  • Also (for senses 2, 4): matt

British Dictionary definitions for mat (3 of 4)

mat3

/ (mæt) /


noun
  1. printing informal short for matrix (def. 5)

British Dictionary definitions for mat. (4 of 4)

mat.

abbreviation for
  1. matinée

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 Idioms and Phrases with mat

mat

see go to the mat; welcome mat.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.