(māt) noun
1. A companion or associate; comrade.
2. One that is paired or coupled with another, as in matrimony; also, the male or female of animals paired for propagation.
3. An equal in a contest; a match.
4. An officer of a merchant vessel, ranking next below the captain.
5. Nav. An assistant to a warrant officer; a petty officer: the boatswain′s mate. See synonyms under ASSOCIATE,
—v. mat·ed, mat·ing v.t.
1. To join as mates or a pair; match; marry.
2. To pair for breeding, as animals.
3. To associate; couple.
—v.i.
4. To match; marry.
5. To pair.
6. To consort; associate. [<MLG <gemate <ge together + mat meat, food. Prob. akin to MEAT.]
—mate′less adjective

(māt) v.t. mat·ed, mat·ing
1. In chess, to checkmate.
2. To defeat or confound.
—noun A checkmate.
—Interj. Checkmate. [<CHECKMATE]

(mä′tā, mat′ā) noun
1. An infusion of the leaves of a Brazilian holly (Ilex paraguariensis), much used as a beverage in South America: also called Paraguay tea, yerba.
2. The Paraguay tea plant. [<Sp. <Quechua mati calabash (in which it was steeped)]