mattress
Americannoun
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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
Etymology
Origin of mattress
1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion
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.
Eight Sleep sells a $3,049 mattress cover and bedside device combination that tracks users’ sleep, and cools and warms the bed based on the metrics.
In their place, the chain’s members will see more health and beauty products, seasonal food and mattresses, as well as indoor saunas.
Some who were able to enter salvaged large empty water tanks, while others came out with family photos, mattresses and heaters.
From Barron's
The nine flights of stairs down to the basement is more than his sick mother can manage, so they lay a mattress in the small entry to their apartment, the only room without a window.
From Barron's
Myth: A firm mattress is the best for alleviating back pain.
From Science Daily
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.
