mate

Plural: mates

Noun

• the officer below the master on a commercial ship
• a fellow member of a team
  • "it was his first start against his former teammates"
• the partner of an animal (especially a sexual partner)
  • "he loved the mare and all her mates"
  • "camels hate leaving their mates"
• a person's partner in marriage
• an exact duplicate
• one of a pair
  • "he lost the mate to his shoe"
• South American holly; leaves used in making a drink like tea
• informal term for a friend of the same sex
• South American tea-like drink made from leaves of a South American holly called mate
• a chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king
• 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.
• Friendly term of address to a stranger, usually male, of similar age.
• 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.
• A suitable companion; a match; an equal.
• Clipping of checkmate.
• 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

Verb

Verb Forms: mated, mating, mates

• To join or pair as partners; to copulate.
• engage in sexual intercourse
  • "Birds mate in the Spring"
• bring two objects, ideas, or people together
• place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game
  • "Kasparov checkmated his opponent after only a few moves"
• To match, fit together without space between.
• 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.
• Clipping of checkmate.
• To confuse; to confound.

Examples

• Excuse me, mate, have you got the time?
• He tried to MATE the ’Q’ with a ’U’ for a quick Scrabble score.
• He's my best mate.
• I found one of the socks I wanted to wear, but I couldn't find its mate.
• I'm going to the pub with a few mates.
• The pieces of the puzzle mate perfectly.

Synonyms

better half, checkmate, copulate, couple, fellow, first mate, Ilex paraguariensis, married person, match, pair, Paraguay tea, partner, spouse, teammate, twin, Formal terms, Informal and slang terms, Netflix and chill, approach, babber, bang, bauf, beat, billy, boff, boink, bone, bonk, bop, bounce, bredrin, breed, bruv, bud, buddo, buddy, bump nasties, bump uglies, butty, catch a dick, chaver, china, chuck, chum, cobber, cock, cocker, cohabit, compadre, companion, company, comrade, cove, crony, dance, dawg, dip one's pen in someone's inkwell, discuss Uganda, do it, do the deed, do the nasty, duck, dude, eff, engage in sex, engender, exchange flesh, expletive deleted, fam, feck, fere, fettler, frack, frak, frick, friend, frig, fuck, geez, geezer, get busy, get down, get freaky, get it, get it on, get jiggy, get laid, get lucky, get one's dick wet, get one's end away, get one's freak on, get one's groove on, get one's leg over, get one's oats, get physical, get some, get the dirty water off one's chest, gink, go all the way, good old boy, graft the forked tree, haul one's ashes, have intimate relations, have it away, have it off, have marital relations, have sex, have sexual relations, hide the salami, hide the sausage, hide the wienie, hike the Appalachian Trail, homeskillet, homie, hook up, hump, intercourse, jig-jig, kith, knock boots, know, know someone in the biblical sense, lay pipe, lay the pipe, lover, make it, make love, make out, make the beast with two backs, make whoopee, marrow, mate, matey, meddle, ming, mucker, old bean, pal, pardner, peeps, penetrate, pipe, pipe down, play, play hide the sausage, rail, ride, rock and roll, roger, roll around, root, screw, see someone's etchings, sex, shag, share a bed, shelve, show someone one's etchings, slap bellies, sleep together, sport, stick, strain, surry, tovarish, tumble, wantok

Antonyms

demate

Anagrams of mate