mattress

[ ma-tris ]

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.

mattress

/ 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 calledDutch mattress a woven mat of brushwood, poles, etc, used to protect an embankment, dyke, etc, from scour
3. a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footing Sometimes shortened tomat
4. a network of reinforcing rods or expanded metal sheeting, used in reinforced concrete
5. civil engineering another name for blinding

Word History and Origins

Origin of mattress¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of mattress¹

C13: via Old French from Italian materasso, from Arabic almatrah place where something is thrown

Example Sentences

Many seemed scrupulously cared for, but in others a rotted half-sprung mattress would block an upper floor window, with trash strewn in the yard.

From Salon

After that will come a “giant mattress of gravel” 12 inches deep, Rock said, laced with perforated pipes to collect runoff and direct it into Liberty Canyon Creek.

From Los Angeles Times

The Tony-winning actor, currently starring in “Once Upon a Mattress,” filed for uncontested divorce from Griffin on Tuesday in New York County Supreme Court, The Times has confirmed.

From Los Angeles Times

Inside the complex, she had dozens of neighbors — elderly men and women with disabilities and little income, a mother who shared a mattress on the floor with her two tween daughters, a grandmother squeezed into a room with her daughter and 4-year old grandson.

From Los Angeles Times

I spent the week in a hotel, because I had to throw my mattress away and I’ve been too busy to purchase a new one.

From Slate

Related Words

• bed
• cushion
• pallet