mat

¹

[ mat ]

noun

1. a piece of fabric made of plaited or woven rushes, straw, hemp, or similar fiber, or of some other pliant material, as rubber, used as a protective covering on a floor or other surface, to wipe the shoes on, etc.
2. a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.
3. Sports.
   1. the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.
   2. a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.
4. a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.
5. a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.
6. Building Trades.
   1. a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.
   2. a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.

verb (used with object)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

1. to cover with or as if with mats or matting.
2. to form into a mat, as by interweaving.

verb (used without object)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

1. to become entangled; form tangled masses.

mat

²

[ mat ]

noun

1. a piece of cardboard or other material placed over or under a drawing, painting, photograph, etc., to serve as a frame or provide a border between the picture and the frame.

verb (used with object)

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

1. to provide (a picture) with a mat.

mat

³

[ mat ]

adjective

, mat·ted, mat·ting.

1. matte ¹.

mat

⁴

[ mat ]

noun

, Printing.

1. the intaglio, usually of papiermâché, impressed from type or a cut, from which a stereotype plate is cast.
2. matrix ( def 8 ).

mat.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. matins.
2. maturity.

M.A.T.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Master of Arts in Teaching.

mat

¹

/ mæt /

noun

1. a border of cardboard, cloth, etc, placed around a picture to act as a frame or as a contrast between picture and frame
2. a surface, as on metal or paint

adjective

1. having a dull, lustreless, or roughened surface

verb

1. to furnish (a picture) with a mat
2. to give (a surface) a mat finish

mat.

²

abbreviation for

1. matinée

mat

³

/ mæt /

noun

1. a thick flat piece of fabric used as a floor covering, a place to wipe one's shoes, etc
2. a smaller pad of material used to protect a surface from the heat, scratches, etc, of an object placed upon it
3. a large piece of thick padded material put on the floor as a surface for wrestling, judo, or gymnastic sports
4. a Māori cloak
5. go back to the mat
   to abandon urban civilization
6. any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangled

   a mat of grass and weeds

7. the solid part of a lace design
8. 1. a heavy net of cable or rope laid over a blasting site to prevent the scatter of debris
   2. a heavy mesh of reinforcement in a concrete slab
   3. (esp US) a steel or concrete raft serving as a footing to support a post
9. civil engineering short for mattress

verb

1. to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass
2. tr to cover with a mat or mats

mat

⁴

/ mæt /

noun

1. informal.
   printing short for matrix

Derived Forms

• ˈmatless, adjective

Other Words From

• matless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mat¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English mat(te), Old English matt, matta, matte, from Late Latin matta “mat (of rushes),” from a Semitic language; compare Phoenician maṭṭa, Hebrew miṭṭāh “bed”

Origin of mat²

First recorded in 1845–50; apparently mat ¹, influenced by matte ¹

Origin of mat³

First recorded in 1920–25; shortened form of matrix

Word History and Origins

Origin of mat¹

C17: from French, literally: dead; see checkmate

Origin of mat²

Old English matte; related to Old High German matta

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. go to the mat, to contend or struggle in a determined or unyielding way:

   The president is going to the mat with Congress over the proposed budget cuts.

More idioms and phrases containing mat

see go to the mat ; welcome mat .

Example Sentences

For all the claptrap over the decades about booting people out, this country’s leaders quickly realize their error and bust out the proverbial welcome mat just as quickly.

From Los Angeles Times

Joan held her much-longed-for daughter for only for a few minutes – she remembers gazing at the newborn’s red face and matted hair.

From BBC

The men sleep on thin, rush mats on the concrete floor.

From BBC

If the so-called Ellis Island of the West — 83% Latino, with a border town’s enduring economic and family ties to Mexico — can pull up the proverbial welcome mat, any Latino-majority area can.

From Los Angeles Times

Here I was sitting on my yoga mat massaging myself with lavender oil.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dishevel