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• mate
  mate

  noun

  a partner in marriage; spouse.
• maté
  maté

  noun

  an evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, cultivated in South America for its leaves, which contain caffeine: family Aquifoliaceae

mate

¹ American  

[mayt] / meɪt /

noun

1. a partner in marriage; spouse.

2. one member of a pair of mated animals.

3. one of a pair.

   I can't find the mate to this glove.

4. a counterpart.

5. an associate; fellow worker; comrade; partner (often used in combination).

   classmate; roommate.

6. friend; buddy; pal (often used as an informal term of address).

   Let me give you a hand with that, mate.

7. Nautical.

   1. first mate.

   2. any of a number of officers of varying degrees of rank subordinate to the master of a merchant ship.

   3. an assistant to a warrant officer or other functionary on a ship.

8. an aide or helper, as to an artisan; factotum.

9. a gear, rack, or worm engaging with another gear or worm.

10. Archaic. an equal in reputation; peer; match.

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verb (used with object)

mated, mating

1. to join as a mate or as mates.

2. to bring (animals) together for breeding purposes.

3. to match or marry.

4. to join, fit, or associate suitably.

   to mate thought with daring action.

5. to connect or link.

   a telephone system mated to a computerized information service.

6. to treat as comparable.

verb (used without object)

mated, mating

1. to associate as a mate or as mates.

2. (of animals) to copulate.

3. (of animals) to pair for the purpose of breeding.

4. to marry.

5. (of a gear, rack, or worm) to engage with another gear or worm; mesh.

6. Archaic. to consort; keep company.

mate ² American  

[mayt] / meɪt /

noun

mated, mating

1. checkmate.

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mate ³ American  

[mah-tay, mat-ay] / ˈmɑ teɪ, ˈmæt eɪ /

noun

1. a tealike South American beverage made from the dried leaves of an evergreen tree.

2. a South American tree, Ilex paraguariensis, that is the source of this beverage.

3. the dried leaves of this tree.

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mate ¹ British  

/ meɪt /

noun

1. the sexual partner of an animal

2. a marriage partner

3. 1. informal a friend, usually of the same sex: often used between males in direct address

   2. (in combination) an associate, colleague, fellow sharer, etc

      a classmate

      a flatmate

4. one of a pair of matching items

5. nautical

   1. short for first mate

   2. any officer below the master on a commercial ship

   3. a warrant officer's assistant on a ship

6. (in some trades) an assistant

   a plumber's mate

7. archaic a suitable associate

8. slang the reduced rate charged for work done for a friend

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verb

1. to pair (a male and female animal) or (of animals) to pair for reproduction

2. to marry or join in marriage

3. (tr) to join as a pair; match

maté ² British  

/ ˈmæteɪ, ˈmɑːteɪ /

noun

1. an evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, cultivated in South America for its leaves, which contain caffeine: family Aquifoliaceae

2. a stimulating milky beverage made from the dried leaves of this tree

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mate ³ British  

/ meɪt /

noun

1. chess See checkmate

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Other Word Forms

• mateless
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of mate¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mate, maite “friend, companion, shipmate, mate (ship's officer), fellow creature,” from Middle Low German mate, gemate “messmate”, replacing Middle English mette, mete “table companion, messmate, partner,” Old English gemetta “messmate, guest”; see origin at meat

Origin of mate²

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb maten, matein, matten “to checkmate, defeat,” from Old French mater, ultimately from Persian; see origin at checkmate

Origin of mate³

First recorded in 1710–20; from American Spanish, from Quechua mati, the calabash gourd in which the herb is steeped

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Explanation

Someone's mate is their spouse, partner, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Your grandmother's long-term sweetheart is her mate. Awwww. A husband or wife is one kind of mate, and animals have mates too, chosen for reproduction and sometimes to assist in raising babies. Anything that comes in a pair — like socks, contacts, shoes, or earrings — also has a mate. Your pal or buddy can be called a mate as well. As a verb, to mate means "to breed" or "to reproduce." In Middle Low German, mate means "one eating at the same table."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mate maté mated mating

After a score from Julia Robinson - who suffered a broken wrist shortly afterwards when being pinned by a team mate - Kelleher sliced in a swerving goal-kick of which Roberto Carlos would be proud.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Jackie’s longtime mate, Shadow, remains in Big Bear, and appears to be healthy, Fish and Wildlife said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

The former president "needs to be free to embrace the people," Alfredo Gaspar, Flavio Bolsonaro's running mate, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

One of them, the first mate on a shuttle tanker, said he had been in and out of Hormuz twice in the past month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

He called to his mate, and they dived together to snatch two fish caps from the heads in the boat.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Santaolalla is not unaware that his compatriot isn’t everyone’s cup of maté.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2021

No wonder Sanchez said she drank the highly caffeinated South American drink maté on the shoot every day — a fitting beverage for a show in which each episode feels like a shot of espresso.

From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2021

You’ll canter with the cowboys across vast grasslands, and trade stories over maté.

From Time ● Sep. 25, 2017

There are meals of carne asada and manioc soup; parleys over endless rounds of yerba maté; social scandals that erupt at horse races; deadly tropical fevers; and red dust, relentless sun, and clouds of mosquitoes.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 15, 2017

With maté we came to Buenos Aires, where the process of discharging the cargo was the same as at Montevideo—into lighters.

From Voyage of the Liberdade by Joshua Slocum

Behind the crosshatched front grille lives a well-tempered, turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and permanent all-wheel drive, including a digitally controlled limited-slip differential.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

However, “beyond that there are vague fears that the AI providers would either be directly competitive or be mated with other solutions to imitate Palantir.”

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

They first mated in 2018 and had their first eaglet Simba the following year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2026

For most species once they've mated and their fledglings have left they sing less and focus on surviving the cold months.

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025

I remembered that Black Star's father was brought to our village by a trapper from Baffin Bay and mated to a Siberian husky.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

Understanding whether fluorescence influences communication, mating, or predator avoidance could also contribute to conservation efforts.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is hoping 2026 could be a “bumper summer of butterflies” because warm, dry days mean uninterrupted foraging, mating and egg-laying.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

In nature, it’s believed that some beetles are shiny for camouflage, protection and mating purposes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Their pleasant mating call, Mr. de Greef writes, sounds like “a distant ferryboat whistle.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

According to this theory, Sapiens and other humans had different anatomies, and most likely different mating habits and even body odours.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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