GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Found 5 definitions 

  1.       

    Mat , n. [Cf. Matte.] A name given by coppersmiths to an alloy of copper, tin, iron, etc., usually called white metal. [Written also matt.]
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  2.       

    Mat, a. [OF. See 4th Mate.] Cast down; dejected; overthrown; slain. [Obs.]
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    When he saw them so piteous and so maat.
    Chaucer.

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  3.       

    Mat, n. [AS. matt, meatt, fr. L. matta a mat made of rushes.]
    1. A thick flat fabric of sedge, rushes, flags, husks, straw, hemp, or similar material, placed on the floor and used for wiping and cleaning shoes at the door, for covering the floor of a hall or room to protect its surface, and for other purposes.
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    2. Any similar flat object made of fabric or other material, such as rubber or plastic, placed flat on a surface for various uses, as for covering plant houses, putting beneath dishes or lamps on a table, securing rigging from friction, and the like.
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    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.
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    4. An ornamental border made of paper, pasteboard, metal, etc., put under the glass which covers a framed picture; as, the mat of a daguerreotype.
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      Mat grass. (Bot.) (a) A low, tufted, European grass (Nardus stricta). (b) Same as Matweed. -- Mat rush (Bot.), a kind of rush (Scirpus lacustris) used in England for making mats.
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  4.       

    Mat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Matted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Matting.]
    1. To cover or lay with mats.
      Evelyn.

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    2. To twist, twine, or felt together; to interweave into, or like, a mat; to entangle.
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      And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair.
      Dryden.

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  5.       

    Mat, v. i. To grow thick together; to become interwoven or felted together like a mat, as hair when wetted with a sticky substance; as, a long-haired cat whose fur is matted.
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