mat

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

Save This Word!

noun

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.

a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.

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.

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

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

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.

to cover with or as if with mats or matting.

to form into a mat, as by interweaving.

verb (used without object), mat·ted, mat·ting.

to become entangled; form tangled masses.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about mat

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

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

Other definitions for mat (2 of 6)

mat²

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

noun

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.

to provide (a picture) with a mat.

Origin of mat

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

Other definitions for mat (3 of 6)

mat³

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

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

matte¹.

Other definitions for mat (4 of 6)

mat⁴

[ mat ]

/ mæt /

noun Printing.

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

matrix (def. 8).

Origin of mat

⁴

First recorded in 1920–25; shortened form of matrix

Other definitions for mat (5 of 6)

mat.

abbreviation

matins.

maturity.

Other definitions for mat (6 of 6)

M.A.T.

abbreviation

Master of Arts in Teaching.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mat in a sentence

If they were well thought through, with a clear plan of execution, she was in, and ready to go to the mat.
The Valerie Jarrett I Know: How She Saved the Obama Campaign and Why She’s Indispensable|Joshua DuBois|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Zalwar Khan returns quickly and begins his morning prayers, spreading out a plastic mat and folding his arms over his chest.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Besides, neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are exactly rolling out the welcome mat for Kerry.
Everyone Says John Kerry Should Stay Out of the Middle East|Josh Rogin|July 13, 2014|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.
Game of Thrones’ New Hunk Michiel Huisman on the Revamped Daario Naharis|Marlow Stern|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

By remarkable contrast, younger musicians who really go to the mat for political controversy can become superstars.
The GOP’s Real Ted Nugent Problem|James Poulos|February 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had repeated till he was thrice weary the statement that "the Cat lay on the Mat and the Rat came in."
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
"Let me get the man something to eat," said Yung Pak as the monk seated himself upon a mat.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
He went back to his praying mat and bent again toward the west, where the Holy Kaaba enshrines the ruby sent down from heaven.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
We here saw an opium-eater, lying stretched out upon a mat on the floor.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
The mat shop is beginning to affect my health: the dust has inflamed my throat, and my eyesight is weakening in the constant dusk.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman

British Dictionary definitions for mat (1 of 4)

mat¹

/ (mæt) /

noun

a thick flat piece of fabric used as a floor covering, a place to wipe one's shoes, etc

a smaller pad of material used to protect a surface from the heat, scratches, etc, of an object placed upon it

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

NZ a Māori cloak

go back to the mat NZ to abandon urban civilization

any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangleda mat of grass and weeds

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

civil engineering short for mattress (def. 3)

verb mats, matting or matted

to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass

(tr) to cover with a mat or mats

Derived forms of mat

matless, adjective

Word Origin for mat

Old English matte; related to Old High German matta

British Dictionary definitions for mat (2 of 4)

mat²

/ (mæt) /

noun

a border of cardboard, cloth, etc, placed around a picture to act as a frame or as a contrast between picture and frame

a surface, as on metal or paint

adjective

having a dull, lustreless, or roughened surface

verb mats, matting or matted (tr)

to furnish (a picture) with a mat

to give (a surface) a mat finish

Also (for senses 2, 4): matt

Word Origin for mat

C17: from French, literally: dead; see checkmate

British Dictionary definitions for mat (3 of 4)

mat³

/ (mæt) /

noun

printing informal short for matrix (def. 5)

British Dictionary definitions for mat (4 of 4)

mat.

abbreviation for

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.

mat

Idioms about mat

Origin of mat

OTHER WORDS FROM mat

Other definitions for mat (2 of 6)

Origin of mat

Other definitions for mat (3 of 6)

Other definitions for mat (4 of 6)

Origin of mat

Other definitions for mat (5 of 6)

Other definitions for mat (6 of 6)

Words related to mat

How to use mat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mat (1 of 4)

Derived forms of mat

Word Origin for mat

British Dictionary definitions for mat (2 of 4)

Word Origin for mat

British Dictionary definitions for mat (3 of 4)

British Dictionary definitions for mat (4 of 4)

Other Idioms and Phrases with mat