1
2
: a deck officer on a merchant ship ranking below the captain
3
: one of a pair: such as
a
: either member of a couple and especially a married couple
b
: either member of a breeding pair of animals
c
: either of two matched objects
mated; mating
variants
or mate
1
: a tealike beverage drunk especially in South America
2
: a South American shrub or tree (Ilex paraguariensis) of the holly family whose leaves and shoots are used in making maté
also
: these leaves and shoots
Synonyms
Examples of mate in a Sentence
Noun (2)
have you seen the mate to this glove anywhere?
that lout and his mates are known troublemakers in the neighborhood
a plumber and his mate showed up to fix the sink in our London hotel room
they vowed to each other that they would remain mates for life
spent the weekend in London with some of his mates from Oxford
Verb (2)
cats conceive almost every time they mate
Recent Examples on the Web
Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2025
Male medaka continue to mate with females despite sperm depletion R. Soc.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
The team repeated this process until the male failed to mate with the three females in a row.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 8 Jan. 2025
There's a diesel engine that offers similar power or for those after further oomph, there's also a 190 bhp option that's mated to a 4WD system.
—Matthew MacConnell, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
It is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and a rear-wheel drive setup.
—New Atlas, 5 Jan. 2025
The hybrid engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with a four-wheel drive system boasting all the off-road goodies—locking center differential, low-range gearing, a crawl-control system, and hill-descent control.
—Michael Harley, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024
While the fleas die in the human gut, Guinea worms—which are impervious to stomach acid—survive and start mating.
—Charles Schmidt, Scientific American, 29 Dec. 2024
Species Survival Plans might call for, among other things, an animal to move to a new zoo to mate with their own kind.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 24 Dec. 2024
Rebecca Santana and Stephen Groves, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
At one time, Burgum was under consideration to become Trump’s running mate.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 16 Jan. 2025
The Floridian was reportedly among the finalists to serve as Mr. Trump’s running mate last year.
—Michael Crowley, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
The males sing three different types of songs, engage in duets with the females and then mate, said Cooley from the University of Connecticut.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2025
During those weeks, the cicadas mature, mate and lay eggs before dying off, and then their offspring begin the cycle anew.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2025
Hawks hunt overhead, mates’ razor cries cutting between them.
—Marge Piercy, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2025
In a follow-up social media post Thursday, Moore revealed that Taylor’s brother and Dawes band mate Griffin Goldsmith and his pregnant wife, who lived within the same neighborhood, also lost their home in the fire.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
Pence, who presided over the 2021 session and rejected calls from his fellow Republicans not to certify the 2020 election results, celebrated the peaceful joint session of Congress and congratulated his former running mate, President-elect Donald Trump, on his victory.
—Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Jan. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Fully restored in 1999, its inline six-cylinder makes 215 horsepower which is mated to a 4-speed gearbox.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2025
Male medaka continue to mate with females despite sperm depletion R. Soc.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
The team repeated this process until the male failed to mate with the three females in a row.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 8 Jan. 2025
There's a diesel engine that offers similar power or for those after further oomph, there's also a 190 bhp option that's mated to a 4WD system.
—Matthew MacConnell, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
It is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and a rear-wheel drive setup.
—New Atlas, 5 Jan. 2025
The hybrid engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with a four-wheel drive system boasting all the off-road goodies—locking center differential, low-range gearing, a crawl-control system, and hill-descent control.
—Michael Harley, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024
While the fleas die in the human gut, Guinea worms—which are impervious to stomach acid—survive and start mating.
—Charles Schmidt, Scientific American, 29 Dec. 2024
Species Survival Plans might call for, among other things, an animal to move to a new zoo to mate with their own kind.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
Noem became a regular presence in Trump’s orbit in recent years and at one point was in consideration as his running mate.
—Rebecca Santana and Stephen Groves, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
At one time, Burgum was under consideration to become Trump’s running mate.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 16 Jan. 2025
The Floridian was reportedly among the finalists to serve as Mr. Trump’s running mate last year.
—Michael Crowley, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
The males sing three different types of songs, engage in duets with the females and then mate, said Cooley from the University of Connecticut.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2025
During those weeks, the cicadas mature, mate and lay eggs before dying off, and then their offspring begin the cycle anew.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2025
Hawks hunt overhead, mates’ razor cries cutting between them.
—Marge Piercy, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2025
In a follow-up social media post Thursday, Moore revealed that Taylor’s brother and Dawes band mate Griffin Goldsmith and his pregnant wife, who lived within the same neighborhood, also lost their home in the fire.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
Pence, who presided over the 2021 session and rejected calls from his fellow Republicans not to certify the 2020 election results, celebrated the peaceful joint session of Congress and congratulated his former running mate, President-elect Donald Trump, on his victory.
—Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Jan. 2025
Dictionary Entries Near mate
Cite this Entry
“Mate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mate. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mate
1 of 3 noun1
b
: an assistant worker : helper
plumber's mate
2
: a deck officer on a merchant ship ranking below the captain
3
a
: either member of a married couple
b
: one of a breeding pair of animals
a dove and its mate
c
: either of two matched objects
the mate to a glove
mate
2 of 3 verb
mated; mating
1
: to join or fit together
2
a
: to bring or come together as mates
especially
: marry entry 1 sense 1
b
: to provide a mate for
3
: copulate
maté
3 of 3 noun
ma·té
variants
or mate
: a fragrant beverage made from the leaves and shoots of a South American shrub or tree related to the hollies
also
: this shrub or tree or its leaves and shoots
Medical Definition
mate
1 of 2 verb
mated; mating
: to pair or join for breeding
maté
2 of 2 noun
ma·té
variants
or mate
1
: an aromatic beverage used chiefly in South America and especially in Paraguay that has stimulant properties like those of coffee
2
: a South American holly (Ilex paraguayensis) whose leaves and shoots are used in making maté
also
: these leaves and shoots
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