matted
1 Americanadjective
adjective
-
tangled into a thick mass
matted hair
-
covered with or formed of matting
Other Word Forms
- mattedly adverb
- mattedness noun
Etymology
Origin of matted1
First recorded in 1600–10; mat 1 + -ed 2
Origin of matted2
Explanation
Matted things are snarled into a twisted mat. If you never brush your long hair, it will become matted and soon you will be in dreadlocks. Silky hair easily becomes matted, and so does the fur of long-haired animals. Many sheep are covered with a dense, matted wool that is sheared off every year and spun into yarn for making sweaters and blankets. The adjective matted comes from mat, which originally meant "tangled mass," from the Late Latin matta, "mat made of rushes."
Vocabulary lists containing matted
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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The Bridge Home
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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.
The schoolhouse is a dull, matted red, as are other architectural elements.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Tattered curtains, matted carpets and missing shower heads were replaced.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2024
As erosion slows, marsh and streamside vegetation is rebounding and putting down densely matted root systems that can increasingly stand firm against flooding, or surging waves.
From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2024
In jail, they cut off his hair, which had been matted and infested with lice.
From New York Times • Jan. 28, 2024
The hair around her face is matted with tears, and I use my finger to gently comb some of it back behind her ear.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
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.
