MAT (matted, matting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: matted    , matting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does MAT mean? 

• MAT (noun)
  The noun MAT has 8 senses:

1. a thick flat pad used as a floor covering

2. mounting consisting of a border or background for a picture

3. sports equipment consisting of a piece of thick padding on the floor for gymnastic sports

4. a mass that is densely tangled or interwoven

5. a master's degree in teaching

6. the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss

7. a foundation (usually on soft ground) consisting of an extended layer of reinforced concrete

8. a small pad of material that is used to protect surface from an object placed on it

  Familiarity information: MAT used as a noun is common.

• MAT (adjective)
  The adjective MAT has 1 sense:

1. not reflecting light; not glossy

  Familiarity information: MAT used as an adjective is very rare.

• MAT (verb)
  The verb MAT has 2 senses:

1. twist together or entwine into a confusing mass

2. change texture so as to become matted and felt-like

  Familiarity information: MAT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A thick flat pad used as a floor covering

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("mat" is a kind of...):

floor cover; floor covering (a covering for a floor)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mat"):

doormat; welcome mat (a mat placed outside an exterior door for wiping the shoes before entering)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Mounting consisting of a border or background for a picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

mat; matting

Hypernyms ("mat" is a kind of...):

mounting (framework used for support or display)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Sports equipment consisting of a piece of thick padding on the floor for gymnastic sports

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

gym mat; mat

Hypernyms ("mat" is a kind of...):

sports equipment (equipment needed to participate in a particular sport)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mat"):

canvas; canvass (the mat that forms the floor of the ring in which boxers or professional wrestlers compete)

wrestling mat (a mat on which wrestling matches are conducted)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A mass that is densely tangled or interwoven

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

a mat of weeds and grass

Hypernyms ("mat" is a kind of...):

mass (a body of matter without definite shape)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A master's degree in teaching

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Master of Arts in Teaching; MAT

Hypernyms ("MAT" is a kind of...):

master's degree (an academic degree higher than a bachelor's degree but lower than a doctor's degree)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

flatness; lusterlessness; lustrelessness; mat; matt; matte

Hypernyms ("mat" is a kind of...):

dullness (a lack of visual brightness)

Derivation:

mat (change texture so as to become matted and felt-like)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A foundation (usually on soft ground) consisting of an extended layer of reinforced concrete

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

mat; raft; raft foundation

Hypernyms ("mat" is a kind of...):

base; foot; foundation; fundament; groundwork; substructure; understructure (lowest support of a structure)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A small pad of material that is used to protect surface from an object placed on it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("mat" is a kind of...):

pad (a flat mass of soft material used for protection, stuffing, or comfort)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mat"):

drip mat (a small mat placed under a glass to protect a surface from condensation)

mouse mat; mousepad (a small portable pad that provides traction for the ball of a computer mouse)

place mat (a mat serving as table linen for an individual place setting)

• MAT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not reflecting light; not glossy

Synonyms:

flat; mat; matt; matte; matted

Context example:

a photograph with a matte finish

Similar:

dull (emitting or reflecting very little light)

• MAT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they mat    ... he / she / it mats   
Past simple: matted   
Past participle: matted   
-ing form: matting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Twist together or entwine into a confusing mass

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

entangle; mat; snarl; tangle

Context example:

The child entangled the cord

Hypernyms (to "mat" is one way to...):

distort; twine; twist (form into a spiral shape)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mat"):

felt (mat together and make felt-like)

enmesh; ensnarl; mesh (entangle or catch in (or as if in) a mesh)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They mat their hair

Sense 2

Meaning:

Change texture so as to become matted and felt-like

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

felt; felt up; mat; mat up; matt-up; matte; matte up

Context example:

The fabric felted up after several washes

Hypernyms (to "mat" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

mat (the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss)

matting (a covering of coarse fabric (usually of straw or hemp))

 Context examples 

No, no; the end is matted.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My slippers were thin: I could walk the matted floor as softly as a cat.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The hair of this man was long and matted, and his head slanted back under it from the eyes.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

It was but a drop or two, but I am so afraid:—but Mr. Frank Churchill was so extremely—and there was a mat to step upon—I shall never forget his extreme politeness.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

She advanced along this corridor, leaving no traces upon the cocoanut matting.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Holmes took the bag, and, descending into the hollow, he pushed the matting into a more central position.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This was approached by four steps carpeted with the same material, while all round were scattered rich cushions, oriental mats and costly rugs of fur.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Their breath came quick and hoarse, and their beautiful coats were matted with moisture.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Like spray painting, the device is used by directing its nozzle at the desired surface during operation, causing a fibre mat to be deposited onto that surface.

(Scientists Develop Spray Gun to Paint Bandages onto Wounds, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Other specific baby products were also analysed, such as personal care products, certain fabrics, nappy-changing mats, and mattress protectors.

(Babies in neonatal intensive care units are exposed to harmful chemical substances found in plastic, University of Granada)