mattress

American  

[ma-tris] / ˈmæ trɪs /

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.

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mattress British  

/ 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

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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

While Moon’s frequently sold-out mattress store offering has clearly made a splash on the L.A. wellness scene — it’s not the only one.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

“Unless you’re going to live off cash under your mattress for the rest of your life, defaulting on your loans will affect you,” Mayotte says.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

She has been sleeping on a mattress on a classroom floor for months after fleeing her now destroyed border village after the previous hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah erupted.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Some 47% of 1,003 Americans surveyed by mattress company Sleepopolis currently take a sleep aid, with natural supplements like melatonin proving the most popular, in favour of prescription and over the counter medications.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

And in the center of the floor, on a bare mattress where I had once slept, was a brown-haired girl curled up into a ball.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Related Words

• bed
• cushion
• pallet