mattress

[ma-tris]

noun

1. 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.

2. air mattress.

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

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

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

mattress

/ ˈmætrɪs /

noun

1. 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

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

3. Sometimes shortened to: mat. a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footing

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

5. civil engineering another name for blinding

Word History and Origins

Origin of mattress¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of mattress¹

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

Example Sentences

Mr Dods lies down on a thin mattress on the floor of the cabin, covered with a grey duvet.

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Rooms are still coated with a thick blanket of ash and littered with melted appliances and mattress coils—the shells of beds that were set on fire.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Argentina has a history of debasing its currency, which is why its people keep billions of dollars in coffee cans, home safes and mattresses.

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I see it with a mattress on the floor, clothes thrown about, scarcely furnished.

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Air Greenland has turned airport meeting rooms and a lounge into make-shift sleeping areas with mattresses.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bed 
• cushion 
• pallet