How do you use the word "mat" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "mat": Entering the house, I tripped over the mat. Wipe your shoes on the mat.

Mat Meaning

/mæt/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA flat piece of coarse material used for wiping one’s feet, or as a decorative or protective floor covering.

nounA small flat piece of material used to protect a surface from anything hot or rough; a coaster.

Sentence Examples

Entering the house, I tripped over the mat.

Wipe your shoes on the mat.

Please wipe your feet on the mat.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

felt flat dull

Antonyms:

bright

CEFR Practice Quiz

She wiped her feet on the ____ before entering the house.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

Please wipe your shoes on the ____ before entering the house to avoid tracking in any mud.

Word Origin & History

Inherited from Middle English matte (“mat”), from Old English meatte (“mat”), from Late Latin matta (“mat made of rushes”), from Punic or Phoenician (compare Hebrew מיטה \ מִטָּה (mitá, “bed, couch”)). Cognate with German Matte (“mat”), Danish måtte (“mat”), Faroese and Icelandic motta (“rug, mat”), Norwegian matte (“mat, rug”), Swedish matta (“carpet, rug, mat”).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"But to return to where we left her, I see her still, propped up in a kind of stupor against one of the walls in which this wretched edifice abounds, her long grey greasy hair framing in its cowl of scrofulous mats a face where pallor, languor, hunger, acne, recent dirt, immemorial chagrin and surplus hair seemed to dispute the mastery." — 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:

"The fad for blaming all mass extinctions (such as happened at the end of the Cretaceous when the dinosaurs vanished) on impacts of objects from space was extended to the Pleistocene in 2007. That year a group of scientists proposed that the North American extinctions were due to a comet or meteorite impact over the Carolinas, near the beginning of the Younger Dryas event, about 12,900 years ago. The original evidence for this supposed impact was a "black mat" of organic material in many Clovis sites, plus microscopic nano-diamonds in deep-sea cores, and rare Platinum group metals in Greenland ice cores from around 12,900 years ago." — 2016 November 15, Donald R. Prothero, The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals, page 222:

"Be careful now to keep the Doors and Windows of your Conservatories well matted" — 1664, J[ohn] E[velyn], “Kalendarium Hortense: Or, The Gard’ners Almanac; […] ”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC:

"And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair." — 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

"Using a Weapon Upgrade Bench, it's possible to upgrade a Common Shotgun, for example, all the way to Legendary provided you've harvested enough mats to do so." — 2019 October 24, Christopher Groux, “'Fortnite' Weapon Upgrade Guide - Upgrade Bench Locations & More”, in Newsweek, New York, N.Y.: Newsweek Publishing LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2023:

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