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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  

[meyt] / 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  

[meyt] / meɪt /

noun

mated, mating

1. checkmate.

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mate ³ American  

[mah-tey, mat-ey] / 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

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

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

The charity's reserve's officer Paul Waterhouse explained the new pair, Blue 717 and her mate Blue 476, had only fledged one chick last year, which was normal among less-experienced ospreys.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Mark Moran, a former investment banker, said he got the early inside track on who Trump would choose as his running mate over dinner at L’Annexe, a swanky Georgetown cocktail bar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Identifying species correctly, determining whether the caregiving individual is male or female, and distinguishing true parental care from similar behaviors such as mate guarding all require specialized expertise.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

His camp has said he is mulling a female running mate.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Penelope removed her knitted cap and shook out her shining auburn hair, which matched the Incorrigible children’s hair as perfectly as one sock matches its mate.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

I’ll get a maté there as a little pick-me-up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024

Each time she settled in a new place, she spread the word about maté.

From New York Times ● Sep. 11, 2023

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

“Think this place ’ll do, sir?” said Shaddy, after washing down his repast with copious draughts of maté made by his men.

From Rob Harlow's Adventures A Story of the Grand Chaco by Burton, W.

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

Jackie and Shadow aren’t just a mated pair, they share a “beautiful love story.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

If the captured nest had already released its gynes, some may have mated before entering hibernation for the winter.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2025

“Gurrrrr grrrr,” it goes, with a description just next to it: Contentment; if a kitten and an apple pie mated, this is what it would sound and smell like.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

For four-day periods every year from March to August, legions of small, silver fish called grunion ride the waves ashore for mating rituals, beginning on the nights of the full and new moons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

July happens to overlap with the animal's mating season - the "peak breeding" period where testosterone levels among bulls are heightened, Jennifer Barfield, the scientific lead at Colorado's Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation Herd, said.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Barfield said her team stays away from the bison during mating season, except for when making observations from the safety of a vehicle.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Weber also noted that mating season is coming to an end, when alligators become very territorial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

“Um, its...um, eating habits, that sort of thing. Its mating habits. Right. Yep, there’s territory, wingspan, things like that.”

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Related Words

• acquaintance
• bride
• buddy
• classmate
• companion
• comrade
• coworker
• playmate
• roommate
• schoolmate
• spouse