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
Etymology
Origin of mattress
1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion
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.
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
It shows her injured leg stretched out on the mattress.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
For them, the ultimate vacation luxury isn’t a nice view—it’s a mattress.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
In Scotland, all newborns have been entitled to a box of essentials - including a mattress and sheets - regardless of parental income or postcode since 2017.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
The mattress creaked and popped as I kicked back the covers, left Helena sleeping, and ran out of the bedroom and through the empty apartment to Mr. and Mrs. Diamant’s old room.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
