place mat

American  

noun

• place mats
  plural

1. a mat set on a dining table beneath a place setting.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• place mats
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of place mat

First recorded in 1950–55

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

place mat

“I think you need to eat something,” she said, slapping the bowl onto a place mat, and she was right.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025

Here seen in an intricately beaded place mat and accompanying charger, gold is the foundation on which this place setting is built, a perfect complement to the metallic design elements found in the centerpiece.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2022

So for almost two weeks straight, after we put away the third place mat on the dinner table, we ate out or ordered in, saving leftovers for lunch.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2021

Find the length and width of the place mat.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

So I pull out my chair, sit on it, grab my orange juice, glug it down, and thump the glass onto the place mat.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

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