Dictionary.com Thesaurus.com

schmatte

American

[shmah-tuh] / ˈʃmɑ tə /

Or shmatte

noun

Slang.

an old ragged garment; tattered article of clothing.
any garment.
a rag.

Etymology

Origin of schmatte

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; from Yiddish shmate “rag,” from Polish szmata

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.