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• mate
  mate

  noun

  a partner in marriage; spouse.
• maté
  maté

  noun

  an evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, cultivated in South America for its leaves, which contain caffeine: family Aquifoliaceae

mate

¹ American  

[meyt] / meɪt /

noun

1. a partner in marriage; spouse.

2. one member of a pair of mated animals.

3. one of a pair.

   I can't find the mate to this glove.

4. a counterpart.

5. an associate; fellow worker; comrade; partner (often used in combination).

   classmate; roommate.

6. friend; buddy; pal (often used as an informal term of address).

   Let me give you a hand with that, mate.

7. Nautical.

   1. first mate.

   2. any of a number of officers of varying degrees of rank subordinate to the master of a merchant ship.

   3. an assistant to a warrant officer or other functionary on a ship.

8. an aide or helper, as to an artisan; factotum.

9. a gear, rack, or worm engaging with another gear or worm.

10. Archaic. an equal in reputation; peer; match.

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verb (used with object)

mated, mating

1. to join as a mate or as mates.

2. to bring (animals) together for breeding purposes.

3. to match or marry.

4. to join, fit, or associate suitably.

   to mate thought with daring action.

5. to connect or link.

   a telephone system mated to a computerized information service.

6. to treat as comparable.

verb (used without object)

mated, mating

1. to associate as a mate or as mates.

2. (of animals) to copulate.

3. (of animals) to pair for the purpose of breeding.

4. to marry.

5. (of a gear, rack, or worm) to engage with another gear or worm; mesh.

6. Archaic. to consort; keep company.

mate ² American  

[meyt] / meɪt /

noun

mated, mating

1. checkmate.

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mate ³ American  

[mah-tey, mat-ey] / ˈmɑ teɪ, ˈmæt eɪ /

noun

1. a tealike South American beverage made from the dried leaves of an evergreen tree.

2. a South American tree, Ilex paraguariensis, that is the source of this beverage.

3. the dried leaves of this tree.

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mate ¹ British  

/ meɪt /

noun

1. the sexual partner of an animal

2. a marriage partner

3. 1. informal a friend, usually of the same sex: often used between males in direct address

   2. (in combination) an associate, colleague, fellow sharer, etc

      a classmate

      a flatmate

4. one of a pair of matching items

5. nautical

   1. short for first mate

   2. any officer below the master on a commercial ship

   3. a warrant officer's assistant on a ship

6. (in some trades) an assistant

   a plumber's mate

7. archaic a suitable associate

8. slang the reduced rate charged for work done for a friend

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verb

1. to pair (a male and female animal) or (of animals) to pair for reproduction

2. to marry or join in marriage

3. (tr) to join as a pair; match

maté ² British  

/ ˈmæteɪ, ˈmɑːteɪ /

noun

1. an evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, cultivated in South America for its leaves, which contain caffeine: family Aquifoliaceae

2. a stimulating milky beverage made from the dried leaves of this tree

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mate ³ British  

/ meɪt /

noun

1. chess See checkmate

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Other Word Forms

• mateless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mate¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mate, maite “friend, companion, shipmate, mate (ship's officer), fellow creature,” from Middle Low German mate, gemate “messmate”, replacing Middle English mette, mete “table companion, messmate, partner,” Old English gemetta “messmate, guest”; see origin at meat

Origin of mate²

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb maten, matein, matten “to checkmate, defeat,” from Old French mater, ultimately from Persian; see origin at checkmate

Origin of mate³

First recorded in 1710–20; from American Spanish, from Quechua mati, the calabash gourd in which the herb is steeped

Explanation

Someone's mate is their spouse, partner, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Your grandmother's long-term sweetheart is her mate. Awwww. A husband or wife is one kind of mate, and animals have mates too, chosen for reproduction and sometimes to assist in raising babies. Anything that comes in a pair — like socks, contacts, shoes, or earrings — also has a mate. Your pal or buddy can be called a mate as well. As a verb, to mate means "to breed" or "to reproduce." In Middle Low German, mate means "one eating at the same table."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mate maté mated mating

Hours after celebrity bald eagle Jackie’s death was announced Monday, a new beaked face showed up in the Big Bear nest she shared with her mate, Shadow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Many also wondered what would become of Shadow, her mate of eight years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

At about 11:30 BST on 23 May 2022, Jones told Fong he would get the two dogs in and Fong then heard Jones shout "Cookie, get off me mate".

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Her best friend and team mate Jana Fernandez will likely help her learn quickly, as well as several other Spaniards, including summer signing Mapi Leon from Barcelona.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Red Team was commanded by a man who looked at a long-haired, unkempt, seat-of-the pants commodities trader yelling and pushing and making a thousand instant decisions an hour and saw in him a soul mate.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

I’ll get a maté there as a little pick-me-up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024

In December, members voted to invest $18,530 from the DAO’s treasury to develop the yerba maté drink, its first physical product.

From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2022

You’ll canter with the cowboys across vast grasslands, and trade stories over maté.

From Time ● Sep. 25, 2017

There are meals of carne asada and manioc soup; parleys over endless rounds of yerba maté; social scandals that erupt at horse races; deadly tropical fevers; and red dust, relentless sun, and clouds of mosquitoes.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 15, 2017

After dinner Greek cigarettes were handed round with small cups of China tea and, as an alternative, Peruvian maté.

From Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol 150, February 9, 1916 by Sir Owen Seaman

Millions of sterile male Mexican fruit flies will be released over parts of San Diego County, after one mated female fruit fly was detected around Spring Valley, according to food and agriculture regulators.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Behind the crosshatched front grille lives a well-tempered, turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and permanent all-wheel drive, including a digitally controlled limited-slip differential.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

However, “beyond that there are vague fears that the AI providers would either be directly competitive or be mated with other solutions to imitate Palantir.”

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

Now eight-weeks-old, the household's numerous new arrivals – dubbed Irish Doodles because their mother was mated with a poodle – are believed to be the biggest litter that crossbreed has seen in the UK.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

One of these changed into a cow, the other a bull, and they mated, then changed again to a mare and stallion, and so on, down to the ants, and thus the earth was populated.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Consequently the number of imports and exports at the site in Atherstone, on the Leciestershire/Warwickshire border, have declined significantly, affecting their ability to bring in mating pairs for breeding.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Their pleasant mating call, Mr. de Greef writes, sounds like “a distant ferryboat whistle.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Sally Wadsworth, chair of Benfield Wildlife and Conservation Group, says some areas of grass are kept longer so that the females can crawl up the stalks for mating.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Weber also noted that mating season is coming to an end, when alligators become very territorial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

The Owsla had privileges in regard to feeding, mating and freedom of movement.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Related Words

• acquaintance
• bride
• buddy
• classmate
• companion
• comrade
• coworker
• playmate
• roommate
• schoolmate
• spouse