mattress
Americannoun
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a large pad for supporting the reclining body, used as or on a bed, consisting of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, that contains hair, straw, cotton, foam rubber, etc., or a framework of metal springs.
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a mat woven of brush, poles, or similar material, used to prevent erosion of the surface of dikes, jetties, embankments, dams, etc.
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a layer of concrete placed on bare ground, as to provide a footing; mat.
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a layer of any material used to cushion, protect, reinforce, or the like.
noun
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a large flat pad with a strong cover, filled with straw, foam rubber, etc, and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or as part of a bed
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Also called: Dutch mattress. a woven mat of brushwood, poles, etc, used to protect an embankment, dyke, etc, from scour
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Sometimes shortened to: mat. a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footing
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a network of reinforcing rods or expanded metal sheeting, used in reinforced concrete
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civil engineering another name for blinding
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mattress
1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion
Explanation
Your mattress is the padded part of your bed that rests on top of the frame or box springs and is covered in a sheet. Some people prefer a soft, squishy mattress, while others like their mattresses firm. Some mattresses have a system of springs inside to provide just the right amount of firmness and bounce when you lie on them. Others are made of a dense kind of foam that supports a sleeper's body comfortably. The earliest mattresses were filled with straw or horse hair, and in many societies people don't sleep on mattresses at all, instead using mats or futons. The Arabic root of mattress is al-matrah, "thing thrown down."
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.
See Examples For:
That first week, we had a TV and a kind of makeshift conversation pit: a quilt, a mattress, some pillows.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
Japan wants to become an asset management superpower, funneling an estimated $7 trillion in mattress money and low-yielding bank accounts into its booming stock market.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
The ordinary bedroom mattress will likely keep its familiar rectangular shape, he says, but evolve to monitor your health with integrated sensors and adjust your sleeping temperature by incorporating new materials into the mattress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Together with others, Aditya helped carry Arman out on a mattress and into an ambulance.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Every available mattress is dirty, rickety, and sagging.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
In fact, it’s a popular time for discounts, with deals on big-ticket items like mattresses, furniture and appliances.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Residents had laid out mattresses, washing machines, wooden furniture, and other salvaged household items.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
A country club in the town of Caraballeda in Venezuela has been turned into a makeshift hospital, with survivors of the country's devastating earthquakes receiving care and sleeping on mattresses on the grass.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
In Brazil, authorities alleged last year that some Chinese workers hired to build BYD’s factory worked seven days a week and slept on beds without mattresses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Inside Sitti’s arched main room, they sat on flowery gingham mattresses arranged in a circle on the floor.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
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.
