mat
1 of 6noun (1)
ˈmat 
1
a(1)
: a piece of coarse, woven, plaited, or felted fabric used especially as a floor covering or a support
(2)
: a piece of material placed at a door for wiping soiled shoe soles
b
: a decorative piece of material used under a small item (such as a dish) especially for support or protection
c
: a large thick pad or cushion used as a surface for wrestling, tumbling, and gymnastics
2
: something made up of densely tangled or adhering filaments or strands especially of organic matter
an algal mat
a mat of unkempt hair
3
: a large slab usually of reinforced concrete used as the supporting base of a building
mat
2 of 6verb (1)
matted; matting
transitive verb
1
: to provide with a mat or matting
2
a
: to form into a tangled mass
dirt and filth matted her hair
b
: to pack down so as to form a dense mass
intransitive verb
: to become matted
mat
3 of 6verb (2)
ˈmat
matted; matting
transitive verb
1
or less commonly matte or matt : to make (something, such as a metal, glass, or color) matte
2
: to provide (a picture) with a mat
mat
4 of 6adjective
less common spelling of matte entry 2
: lacking or deprived of luster (see luster entry 1 sense 1) or gloss: such as
a
: having a usually smooth even surface free from shine or highlights
matte metals
a matte finish
b
: having a rough or granular (see granular sense 1) surface
mat
5 of 6noun (2)
: a border going around a picture between picture and frame or serving as the frame
mat
6 of 6noun (3)
: matrix sense 2a
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English, from Old English meatte, from Late Latin matta, of Semitic origin; akin to Hebrew miṭṭāh bed
Noun (2)
French mat dull color, unpolished surface, from mat, adjective — more at matte
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Verb (1)
1549, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Verb (2)
1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun (2)
1845, in the meaning defined above
Noun (3)
1904, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing mat
Kids Definition
mat 1 of 2
noun
ˈmat
1
: a piece of material used as a floor or seat covering or in front of a door to wipe the shoes on
2
: a decorative piece of material used under dishes or vases
3
: a pad or cushion for gymnastics or wrestling
4
: something made up of many tangled strands
a mat of hair
mat
2 of 2verb
matted; matting
: to form into a tangled mass
Medical Definition
mat 1 of 2
adjective
variants or matt or matte
ˈmat
1
: lacking or deprived of luster or gloss : having a usually smooth even surface free from shine or highlights
2
: having a coarse rough rugose or granular surface
bacteria that form mat colonies on agar
mat
2 of 2noun
: a mat colony of bacteria
mats
verb
1
as in dims
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- dims
- snows
- bleaches
- silvers
- brightens
- decolorizes
- frosts
- lightens
- blanches
- etiolates
- blenches
- pales
- dulls
- whitens
- fades
- washes out
- whitewashes
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- patterns
- stripes
- spots
- deepens
- shades
- colors
- dyes
- darkens
- stains
- pigments
- discolors
- flecks
- marbles
- checkers
- specks
- streaks
- mottles
- speckles
- embrowns
- paints
- tints
- dapples
- daubs
- blackens
- tarnishes
- splotches
- blotches
- variegates
- polishes
- tinctures
- striates
- tinges
- shines
- polychromes
- burnishes
2
as in squashes
Synonyms & Similar Words
- squashes
- rams
- refills
- bulks
- crowds
- shoves
- swamps
- presses
- floods
- replenishes
- repacks
- bloats
- gluts
- packs
- heaps
- loads
- reloads
- refreshes
- drenches
- honeycombs
- crushes
- squeezes
- saturates
- stuffs
- overcharges
- brims
- overfills
- jams
- charges
- jam-packs
- overflows
- fills
- penetrates
- crams
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- voids
- empties
- clears
- drains
- eliminates
- vacates
- exhausts
- cleans
- sweeps
- bleeds
- draws (off)
- depletes
- lightens
- evacuates
- flushes
- purges
- scours