mat
mat — noun
1. a flat piece of fabric, rubber, or other sturdy material placed on the floor, us
a flat piece of fabric, rubber, or other sturdy material placed on the floor, used to protect the surface, wipe shoes, or provide a clean area to stand or sit on
Erik wiped his shoes on the mat before entering the house.
collocation: wipe shoes on a mat
A thick bath mat sat beside the tub, ready for after the shower.
The yoga mat rolled up easily and fit inside Tanvi's bag.
Roya placed a new welcome mat outside her front door last week.
- rug
a rug is usually larger, decorative, and covers more floor space than a mat
2. a flat piece of cloth, paper, plastic, or cork placed on a table or other surfac
a flat piece of cloth, paper, plastic, or cork placed on a table or other surface to protect it from heat, scratches, or spills
Quinn put the hot kettle on a cork mat to protect the table.
purpose: protect surface from heat
Each place mat had a pattern of leaves and flowers.
compound: place mat
The children used paper mats during art class to keep the desks clean.
Yasmin's mother bought new table mats made of woven bamboo.
3. a thick padded surface used in gymnastics, wrestling, and other sports to give a
a thick padded surface used in gymnastics, wrestling, and other sports to give a soft landing when people fall, jump, or exercise on it
The gymnast landed safely on the thick mat after her backflip.
sports context: gymnastics landing
Joshua helped roll the wrestling mat across the gym floor.
The coach placed extra mats around the balance beam for safety.
Adina practised her forward rolls on a blue exercise mat at school.
- gym mat
a more general term for any mat used in a gym setting
4. a dense, messy clump of soft material like hair, grass, or fur that has become t
a dense, messy clump of soft material like hair, grass, or fur that has become twisted and pressed together
A thick mat of dead grass covered the flowerbed after winter.
pattern: mat of [material]
The dog's fur had formed a painful mat behind its ears.
Paloma spent an hour brushing a mat of hair out of her daughter's ponytail.
Under the oak tree, a dense mat of fallen leaves lay on the ground.
文法句型
mat + of + noun
用法筆記
Only sense that describes a natural tangled mass rather than a manufactured object. Typically followed by 'of' and a material noun such as hair, grass, fur, or leaves.
5. a treatment method that combines prescribed medicines, such as methadone or bupr
a treatment method that combines prescribed medicines, such as methadone or buprenorphine, with counselling to help people recover from addiction to drugs like heroin or opioid painkillers
The clinic offers MAT to people who want to stop using heroin.
acronym: MAT = Medication Assisted Treatment
Patients in the MAT programme receive both medicine and weekly therapy.
Doctors recommend MAT as a safer option than stopping all drugs suddenly.
Linh's recovery improved after she joined a MAT clinic near her home.
用法筆記
Always written in capital letters as MAT. Primarily used in healthcare, social work, and public-policy contexts discussing addiction treatment.
6. a sheet of cardboard or thick paper placed inside a picture frame as a border be
a sheet of cardboard or thick paper placed inside a picture frame as a border between the image and the frame itself
The framer chose a white mat to make the watercolour stand out.
art context: picture framing
Élise replaced the old gold frame but kept the original cream-coloured mat.
Joon cut a new mat for the photograph using a sharp blade and a ruler.
A thick mat between the photo and the frame gives it a professional look.
- mount
mount is the standard term in British English for the same object
用法筆記
Common in art framing and photography. In British English also called a 'mount'. Not used for digital image borders.
7. a dull, non-shiny quality on the surface of an object, such as paint, paper, or
a dull, non-shiny quality on the surface of an object, such as paint, paper, or photography, that does not reflect bright light
Mauricio prefers a mat finish for bedroom walls to reduce eye glare.
collocation: mat finish
The printer can produce either a gloss or a mat surface on photo paper.
contrast: gloss vs mat
Charlotte chose mat paint for the ceiling so it would not reflect light.
Many photographers use mat paper for portraits because it hides fingerprints well.
- matte
matte is the more common spelling for the adjective form and in product labels
- gloss
gloss describes a shiny, reflective surface — the opposite of mat
用法筆記
Used mainly in product descriptions for paint, paper, and photography. Compare with the adjective sense, which is used as a modifier before nouns (matte paint, matte finish).
mat — verb
1. to twist and press soft material such as hair, fur, wool, or plants into a dense
to twist and press soft material such as hair, fur, wool, or plants into a dense, messy clump that is hard to separate
The cat's fur matted together after it got soaked in the rain.
intransitive: mat together
Linh's long hair matted badly during the storm and took ages to comb out.
The heavy rain had matted the fallen leaves into a wet layer on the ground.
Grass along the path got matted down under the weight of hundreds of boots.
- tangle
tangle can mean a loose twist; mat suggests the material is also pressed flat and dense
- untangle
to separate twisted strands back into their original form
文法句型
mat + together
get/become + matted
用法筆記
Often used in the passive or past-participle form — 'get matted', 'become matted', 'matted together'. The subject is typically hair, fur, grass, leaves, or fabric. The transitive form means to cause something to become tangled by pressing or wetting it.
常見錯誤
mat — adjective
1. describes a surface that is dull and soft-looking, without any shine or reflecti
describes a surface that is dull and soft-looking, without any shine or reflection of light
Darius bought mat paper for printing his art portfolio.
attributive: mat + noun
The walls were painted in a soft mat finish that felt warm and calm.
collocation: mat finish
Imani prefers mat lipstick because it lasts longer than shiny ones.
A mat photograph does not show fingerprints as clearly as a glossy one.
- matte
matte is the more common spelling in British English and in product labels
- glossy
glossy surfaces are shiny and reflect light — the direct opposite of mat
用法筆記
Used both attributively before nouns (mat paint, mat paper) and predicatively (this paint is mat). The spelling 'matte' is common in British English; 'mat' is the usual American English spelling for this adjective sense. The noun sense 7 describes the same quality as a property rather than as a descriptor.