mat
1
(m
t)
KEY
NOUN:
- 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.
VERB:
mat·ted
,
mat·ting
,
mats
VERB:
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.
VERB:
intr.
- To be packed or interwoven into a thick mass; become entangled.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English
matte, from Late Latin
matta,
of Phoenician origin; see
n
y in Semitic roots
