What (who) is Mate - definition
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Mate (term); Máté; Maté (disambiguation); Mate (disambiguation); MATE; Mating (disambiguation); Máté (disambiguation); Mate (film)
mate
(mates, mating, mated)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
You can refer to someone's friends as their mates, especially when you are talking about a man and his male friends. (BRIT INFORMAL)
He's off drinking with his mates...
= pal
N-COUNT: usu with poss
2.
Some men use mate as a way of addressing other men when they are talking to them. (BRIT INFORMAL)
Come on mate, things aren't that bad.
= pal
N-VOC
3.
Someone's wife, husband, or sexual partner can be referred to as their mate.
He has found his ideal mate.
= partner
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft poss N
4.
An animal's mate is its sexual partner.
The males guard their mates zealously.
N-COUNT: usu poss N
5.
When animals mate, a male and a female have sex in order to produce young.
This allows the pair to mate properly and stops the hen staying in the nest-box...
They want the males to mate with wild females...
It is easy to tell when a female is ready to mate.
...the mating season.
V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n, V (non-recip), V-ing
6.
On a commercial ship, the mate or the first mate is the most important officer except for the captain. Officers of lower rank are also called mates.
...the mate of a fishing trawler.
N-COUNT
7.
N-UNCOUNT
8.
see also cellmate
, classmate
, flatmate
, playmate
, roommate
, running mate
, schoolmate
, shipmate
, soul mate
, classmate
, flatmate
, playmate
, roommate
, running mate
, schoolmate
, shipmate
, soul mate
mate
mate1
¦ noun
1. Brit. informal a friend or companion.
2. [in combination] a fellow member or joint occupant: his table-mates.
3. the sexual partner of a bird or other animal.
4. chiefly Brit. an assistant or deputy in some trades: a plumber's mate.
5. an officer on a merchant ship subordinate to the master. See also first mate.
¦ verb
1. (with reference to animals or birds) come or bring together for breeding; copulate.
2. join or connect mechanically.
Derivatives
mateless adjective
Origin
ME: from Mid. Low Ger. mat(e) 'comrade', of W. Gmc origin.
--------
mate2
¦ noun & verb Chess short for checkmate.
Origin
ME: from Anglo-Norman Fr. mat, from the phr. eschec mat (see checkmate), and Anglo-Norman Fr. mater 'to checkmate'.
mate
['mate?]
(also yerba mate)
¦ noun
1. (also mate tea) a bitter infusion made from the leaves of a South American shrub, which is high in caffeine.
2. the shrub of the holly family which produces these leaves. [Ilex paraguariensis.]
Origin
C18: from Sp. mate 'calabash', from Quechua mati.
Pronunciation examples for Mate
1. Mate?
Death at a Funeral
2. Mate.
Dossie Easton Discusses Modern Romance _ Talks at Google
3. Mate.
Death at a Funeral
4. Mate?
Death at a Funeral
5. mate.
Stop Hurting & Start Helping Women in Tech _ Brianna Wu _ Talks at Google
Examples of use of Mate
1. They call each other ‘mate‘ all the time – "me best mate", "me oldest mate", "me work mate" and, for a woman, "me longhaired mate". And, only this week, it was announced that under changes to immigration regulations, potential migrants will need to sign a statement declaring their willingness to obey the terms of ‘mateship‘, as an indication of their acceptance of Australian social values.
2. The captain, chief mate, second mate, third mate, chief cabin steward, and housekeeper of the Greek–flagged vessel were arrested after the accident, a Merchant Marine Ministry spokeswoman said earlier Saturday.
3. The foundation‘s sheeps and goats mate naturally.
4. Republicans will nominate McCain and vice presidential running mate, Palin, 44, as their candidates this week to face Obama and his running mate, Delaware Sen.
5. "Political soul mate" –– Ezola Foster ‘s description of Pat Buchanan, after he tapped her as his Reform Party running mate, in an August 2000 interview with L.A.