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

Etymology

Origin of place mat

First recorded in 1950–55

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

Easier said than done when the crumbs of the antipasti are brushed away and your choice of pasta lands on the green-and-gold place mat.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2023

There is room for bits of Shakespeare, vaudeville theatrics and road trip trivia like the paper place mat maps at Howard Johnson’s restaurants.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2021

The area of a rectangular place mat is 168 square inches.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

My finger traces patterns on the blue place mat.

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes