mat

1. a piece of fabric made of plaited or woven rushes, straw, hemp, or similar fiber, or of some other pliant material, as rubber, used as a protective covering on a floor or other surface, to wipe the shoes on, etc.

2. a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.

3. Sports.

   1. the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.

   2. a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.

4. a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.

5. a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.

6. Building Trades.

   1. a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.

   2. a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.

1. to cover with or as if with mats or matting.

2. to form into a mat, as by interweaving.

1. to become entangled; form tangled masses.

1. go to the mat, to contend or struggle in a determined or unyielding way.

   The president is going to the mat with Congress over the proposed budget cuts.

1. a piece of cardboard or other material placed over or under a drawing, painting, photograph, etc., to serve as a frame or provide a border between the picture and the frame.

1. to provide (a picture) with a mat.

1. matte.

1. the intaglio, usually of papiermâché, impressed from type or a cut, from which a stereotype plate is cast.

2. matrix.

1. matins.

2. maturity.

1. Master of Arts in Teaching.

1. a thick flat piece of fabric used as a floor covering, a place to wipe one's shoes, etc

2. a smaller pad of material used to protect a surface from the heat, scratches, etc, of an object placed upon it

3. a large piece of thick padded material put on the floor as a surface for wrestling, judo, or gymnastic sports

4. a Māori cloak

5. to abandon urban civilization

6. any surface or mass that is densely interwoven or tangled

   a mat of grass and weeds

7. the solid part of a lace design

8. 1. a heavy net of cable or rope laid over a blasting site to prevent the scatter of debris

   2. a heavy mesh of reinforcement in a concrete slab

   3. (esp US) a steel or concrete raft serving as a footing to support a post

9. civil engineering short for mattress

1. to tangle or weave or become tangled or woven into a dense mass

2. (tr) to cover with a mat or mats

1. a border of cardboard, cloth, etc, placed around a picture to act as a frame or as a contrast between picture and frame

2. a surface, as on metal or paint

1. having a dull, lustreless, or roughened surface

1. to furnish (a picture) with a mat

2. to give (a surface) a mat finish

1. informal printing short for matrix

1. matinée

1. see go to the mat; welcome mat.