mattress
Americannoun
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mattresses
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mattress
1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion
Explanation
Your mattress is the padded part of your bed that rests on top of the frame or box springs and is covered in a sheet. Some people prefer a soft, squishy mattress, while others like their mattresses firm. Some mattresses have a system of springs inside to provide just the right amount of firmness and bounce when you lie on them. Others are made of a dense kind of foam that supports a sleeper's body comfortably. The earliest mattresses were filled with straw or horse hair, and in many societies people don't sleep on mattresses at all, instead using mats or futons. The Arabic root of mattress is al-matrah, "thing thrown down."
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.
See Examples For:
She has a disability and cannot walk, and told me she had nowhere of her own to sleep: "I have nothing… no shelter, no mattress, no family. Nothing."
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
On the floor was a single mattress, low to the ground, with carnation-pink satin sheets.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
I took a cue from the business-class veterans across the aisle and started by putting my mattress pad on the seat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He does not have a mattress, but up here at least some air is moving.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
As she helped me tug them over the corners of the mattress, I shot her a look out of the corner of my eye.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
“And we never heard back,” Miranda said, telling me she had seen people set up camp at the property, bringing in mattresses, book shelves and clothing racks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Nepal's Red Cross has begun providing emergency relief, including food, water, hygiene kits, mattresses and blankets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
One park in Pereira was transformed into a makeshift shelter with tents and mattresses.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
According to the Hisbah, the support package a couple receives includes essential household items needed to establish a new home: beds, mattresses, bedsheets, pillows, furniture and food supplies.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
At night they take the papers to bed with them and hide them under their mattresses or have Rashid Uncle put them outside.
From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani
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.
