mate.
A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.
Meaning & usage
A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.
A breeding partner.
A friend, usually of the same sex.
I'm going to the pub with a few mates.
He's my best mate.
Friendly term of address to a stranger, usually male, of similar age.
Excuse me, mate, have you got the time?
In naval ranks, a non-commissioned officer or his subordinate (e.g. Boatswain's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Sailmaker's Mate, etc).
A ship's officer, subordinate to the master on a commercial ship.
A first mate.
A technical assistant in certain trades (e.g. gasfitter's mate, plumber's mate); sometimes an apprentice.
The other member of a matched pair of objects.
I found one of the socks I wanted to wear, but I couldn't find its mate.
A suitable companion; a match; an equal.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d-der. Proto-Germanic *matiz Proto-Germanic *matjô Proto-West Germanic *gamatjôder. Old Saxon gimatoder. Middle Low German matebor. Middle English mate English mate From Middle English mate, a borrowing from Middle Low German mate (“messmate”) (replacing Middle English mett, mette (“table companion, mate, partner”), from Old English ġemetta (“sharer of food, table-guest”)), from Old Saxon gimato, derived from Proto-Germanic *gamatjô, itself from *ga- (“together”) (related to German and Dutch ge-) + *matjô (from *matiz (“food”)), related to Old English mete (“food”)). From the same Middle Low German source stems German Low German Maat (“journeyman, companion”), German Maat (“naval non-commissioned officer”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Moat (“friend, buddy, comrade, mate”), Dutch maat (“mate, partner, colleague, friend”). More at Old English ġe-, English co-, English meat. Doublet of maat. Compare typologically Latin compāniō (whence companion) (< con- + panis + -ō), Russian однока́шник (odnokášnik) (< одно- (odno-) + ка́ша (káša) + -ник (-nik)).
To match, fit together without space between.
The pieces of the puzzle mate perfectly.
To copulate.
To pair in order to raise offspring.
To arrange in matched pairs.
To introduce (animals) together for the purpose of breeding.
To copulate with.
To marry; to match (a person).
To match oneself against; to oppose as equal; to compete with.
To fit (objects) together without space between.
To come together as companions, comrades, partners, etc.
To move (a space shuttle orbiter) onto the back of an aircraft that can carry it.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d-der. Proto-Germanic *matiz Proto-Germanic *matjô Proto-West Germanic *gamatjôder. Old Saxon gimatoder. Middle Low German matebor. Middle English mate English mate From Middle English mate, a borrowing from Middle Low German mate (“messmate”) (replacing Middle English mett, mette (“table companion, mate, partner”), from Old English ġemetta (“sharer of food, table-guest”)), from Old Saxon gimato, derived from Proto-Germanic *gamatjô, itself from *ga- (“together”) (related to German and Dutch ge-) + *matjô (from *matiz (“food”)), related to Old English mete (“food”)). From the same Middle Low German source stems German Low German Maat (“journeyman, companion”), German Maat (“naval non-commissioned officer”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Moat (“friend, buddy, comrade, mate”), Dutch maat (“mate, partner, colleague, friend”). More at Old English ġe-, English co-, English meat. Doublet of maat. Compare typologically Latin compāniō (whence companion) (< con- + panis + -ō), Russian однока́шник (odnokášnik) (< одно- (odno-) + ка́ша (káša) + -ник (-nik)).
To confuse; to confound.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English maten (“to overpower”), from Old French mater (“to kill”), from Vulgar Latin *mattō, of unclear origin.
Alternative spelling of maté, an aromatic tea-like drink prepared from the holly yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis).
The abovementioned plant; the leaves and shoots used for the tea
Where this word comes from
See maté.
Clipping of checkmate.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English verb maten, from Middle French mater, from Old French noun mat (“checkmate”), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât).
Clipping of checkmate.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English verb maten, from Middle French mater, from Old French noun mat (“checkmate”), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.