mattress

[ma-tris]

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noun

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.

air mattress.

a mat woven of brush, poles, or similar material, used to prevent erosion of the surface of dikes, jetties, embankments, dams, etc.

a layer of concrete placed on bare ground, as to provide a footing; mat.

a layer of any material used to cushion, protect, reinforce, or the like.

Origin of mattress

1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for mattress

cushion, bed, pallet, futon, springs, innerspring

Examples from the Web for mattress

Contemporary Examples of mattress

Matthew complained about his jail-issued coveralls and the mattress in his cell after he was captured in Texas.
Alleged U.Va. Abductor Accused of Rape at Christian College
Michael Daly
September 28, 2014
You tell Hassan to have the Iraqi army soldiers check the mattress.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq
Nathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
The mother unties the palm staves from the mattress, then takes the nylon ropes and ties the mattress to the boat.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq
Nathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
The mattress causes the boat to tip forward, and in the ensuing rocking the boat begins to take on water.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq
Nathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
The four of them move to the boat, right it, balance the mattress across its bow and shove it towards the water.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq
Nathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014

Historical Examples of mattress

The shirt was clotted with blood; so were the mattress under him and the floor.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
They put a mattress in the bottom of the cart, and plenty of blankets.
Heather and Snow
George MacDonald
Captain Beaudoin was again resting on his mattress in the large room.
The Downfall
Emile Zola
Etienne could sleep in the shop, on a mattress on the floor, that was all.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
When the mattress was empty she got thirty sous for the sack so as to be able to have coffee.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for mattress

mattress

noun

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

Also called: Dutch mattress a woven mat of brushwood, poles, etc, used to protect an embankment, dyke, etc, from scour

a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footingSometimes shortened to: mat

a network of reinforcing rods or expanded metal sheeting, used in reinforced concrete

civil engineering another name for blinding (def. 3)

Word Origin for mattress

C13: via Old French from Italian materasso, from Arabic almatrah place where something is thrown

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mattress

late 13c., from Old French materas (12c., Modern French matelas), from Italian materasso and directly from Medieval Latin matracium, borrowed in Sicily from Arabic al-matrah "the cushion" (cf. Spanish almadraque "mattress," Provençal almatrac), literally "the thing thrown down," from taraha "he threw (down)."