matey
1 Americannoun
plural
mateysadjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of matey1
First recorded in 1825–35; mate 1 + -y 2
Origin of matey2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He can be matey or imperious as the fancy takes him.
From Golf Digest • May 5, 2020
He relished being matey with the ultras and was seemingly blase about their darker dealings.
From The Guardian • Dec. 1, 2016
Not since George Carlin reëmerged angry and articulate, in the nineties, has a comedian called American bullshit to order so eloquently, or with more matey good cheer.
From The New Yorker • Jul. 7, 2015
That doesn't mean being matey with them all the time, because you've got to say tough things to people, that they don't want to hear.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2015
Ross Wilcox took it, acting all matey to remind me we're not.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
