matte
1or mat, matt
- having a dull or lusterless surface: matte paint; a matte complexion; a photograph with a matte finish.
- a dull or dead surface, often slightly roughened, as on metals, paint, paper, or glass.
- a tool for producing such a surface.
- Metallurgy. an unfinished metallic product of the smelting of certain sulfide ores, especially those of copper.
- Movies. matte shot.
- to finish with a matte surface.
Origin of matte
1matte
2- a mass of timber caved beneath overburden so as to cushion the fall of the overburden and separate it from mineral to be extracted beneath.
Origin of matte
2Related Words for matte
flat, uninspired, boring, muted, ho-hum, subdued, dim, muddy, somber, hazy, dark, lifeless, dismal, cloudy, cold, soft, obscure, bland, stale, weakExamples from the Web for matte
Contemporary Examples of matte
The shell is a combination of matte and shiny plastics, but it still feels like a solid piece of hardware.
PlayStation 4 Review: The PS4 and the Gorgeous Next Generation of GamingAlec Kubas-Meyer
November 15, 2013
The real Chloë is notorious for wearing beige and houndstooth and orange, matte lipstick, and sarcastic chunk wedges.
Then, the merkin is applied with an adhesive; Ledermann uses a matte substance by Telesis.
Historical Examples of matte
Matte Enamel, medium weight; Enameled, medium weight; Velvet, medium weight.
Bromide Printing and EnlargingJohn A. Tennant
Matte and Maie grew fat on this fine living, and daily became richer.
The Lilac Fairy BookAndrew Lang
There was once a fisherman who was called Salmon, and his Christian name was Matte.
The Lilac Fairy BookAndrew Lang
The German term in the Glossary for panes ex pyrite is stein, the same as the modern German for matte.
De Re MetallicaGeorgius Agricola
The matte is roasted, re-smelted with lead, and no doubt a button obtained, and further matte.
De Re MetallicaGeorgius Agricola
matte
1- an impure fused material consisting of metal sulphides produced during the smelting of a sulphide ore
Word Origin for matte
matte
2- films television a mask used to blank out part of an image so that another image can be superimposed
Word Origin and History for matte
"backing for a picture," 1845, from French; see mat (n.2).
variant of mat (n.2).