mat Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
  2. noun mounting consisting of a border or background for a picture
    matting.
  3. noun sports equipment consisting of a piece of thick padding on the floor for gymnastic sports
    gym mat.
  4. noun a mass that is densely tangled or interwoven
    • a mat of weeds and grass
  5. noun a master's degree in teaching
    Master of Arts in Teaching.
  6. noun the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
    matt; lusterlessness; matte; lustrelessness; flatness.
  7. noun a small pad of material that is used to protect surface from an object placed on it
  8. verb twist together or entwine into a confusing mass
    entangle; snarl; tangle.
    • The child entangled the cord
  9. verb change texture so as to become matted and felt-like
    mat up; matte up; felt; matt-up; matte; felt up.
    • The fabric felted up after several washes
  10. adjective satellite not reflecting light; not glossy
    flat; matt; matte; matted.
    • flat wall paint
    • a photograph with a matte finish

WordNet

Mat noun
Etymology
Cf. Matte.
Definitions
  1. A name given by coppersmiths to an alloy of copper, tin, iron, etc., usually called white metal. Written also matt.
Mat adjective
Etymology
OF. See 4th Mate.
Definitions
  1. Cast down; dejected; overthrown; slain. Obs.
    When he saw them so piteous and so maat. Chaucer.
Mat noun
Etymology
AS. matt, meatt, fr. L. matta a mat made of rushes.
Definitions
  1. A fabric of sedge, rushes, flags, husks, straw, hemp, or similar material, used for wiping and cleaning shoes at the door, for covering the floor of a hall or room, and for other purposes.
  2. Any similar fabric for various uses, as for covering plant houses, putting beneath dishes or lamps on a table, securing rigging from friction, and the like.
  3. Anything growing thickly, or closely interwoven, so as to resemble a mat in form or texture; as, a mat of weeds; a mat of hair.
  4. An ornamental border made of paper, pasterboard, metal, etc., put under the glass which covers a framed picture; as, the mat of a daguerreotype.
Mat transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Matted ; present participle & verbal noun Matting
Definitions
  1. To cover or lay with mats. Evelyn.
  2. To twist, twine, or felt together; to interweave into, or like, a mat; to entangle.
    And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair. Dryden.
Mat intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To grow thick together; to become interwoven or felted together like a mat.

Webster 1913