n.
- A flat piece of coarse fabric or other material used for wiping one's shoes or feet, or in various other forms as a floor covering.
- A small flat piece of decorated material placed under a lamp, dish of food, or other object.
- Sports. A floor pad to protect athletes, as in wrestling or gymnastics.
- A densely woven or thickly tangled mass: a mat of hair.
- The solid part of a lace design.
- A heavy woven net of rope or wire cable placed over a blasting site to keep debris from scattering.
v., mat·ted, mat·ting, mats. v.tr.
- To cover, protect, or decorate with mats or a mat.
- To pack or interweave into a thick mass: High winds matted the leaves against the base of the fence.
To be packed or interwoven into a thick mass; become entangled.
[Middle English, from Old English matte, from Late Latin matta, of Phoenician origin.]
mat2 (măt)
n.
- A decorative border placed around a picture to serve as a frame or provide contrast between the picture and the frame.
- also matte
- A dull, often rough finish, as of paint, glass, metal, or paper.
- A special tool for producing such a surface or finish.
- Printing. See matrix (sense ).
- To put a mat around (a picture).
- To produce a dull finish on.
Having a dull finish.
[From French, dull, from Old French, defeated, withered, perhaps from Latin mattus, stupefied, senseless, possibly from *maditus, past participle of madēre, to be wet.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
