mattress

American  

[ma-tris] / ˈmæ trɪs /

noun

1. 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.

2. air mattress.

3. a mat woven of brush, poles, or similar material, used to prevent erosion of the surface of dikes, jetties, embankments, dams, etc.

4. a layer of concrete placed on bare ground, as to provide a footing; mat.

5. a layer of any material used to cushion, protect, reinforce, or the like.

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mattress British  

/ ˈmætrɪs /

noun

1. 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

2. Also called: Dutch mattress.  a woven mat of brushwood, poles, etc, used to protect an embankment, dyke, etc, from scour

3. Sometimes shortened to: mat.  a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footing

4. a network of reinforcing rods or expanded metal sheeting, used in reinforced concrete

5. civil engineering another name for blinding

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Etymology

Origin of mattress

1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion

Example Sentences

Now they slept in a small trailer because Abby needed a real bed, with a mattress, not a sleeping bag on the ground.

From Literature

“We’re looking good,” she said, knocking on her wooden bedframe and testing the mattress.

From Los Angeles Times

It was a battered old thing topped with a cargo load almost as high as the vehicle itself, tied over with foam mattresses.

From Literature

But as any Argentine will tell you, you would have to be stupid to literally hide cash under your mattress—it’s the first place a burglar would look.

From The Wall Street Journal

As Sobie spoke to the BBC, canoes - steered with paddles or long bamboo poles - moved through the narrow waterways, carrying mattresses and sacks of clothes belonging to the displaced people.

From BBC

Related Words

• bed
• cushion
• pallet