🧘 A flat pad 🧶 A tangled mass 🧶 To tangle 🖼️ A picture border 🏗️ A thick base 🌫️ No shine 💄 Not shiny

to mat

1 4.9

To become tangled into a thick mass, especially hair or fur

verb
/mæt/

: enmarañar

After playing outside, her long hair began to mat together, making it difficult to brush.

Now leaves in a forest floor, they will stack, and when they stack they mat together.

Examples

The wet leaves on the ground mat together, forming a thick layer that is hard to walk on.
We're gonna mat the fur a little bit.

Over the Hedge (2006)
Now leaves in a forest floor, they will stack, and when they stack they mat together.

MIgardener
The water hits the grass and mats it down.

Fiction book (1997)
And after we get that layer of powder on there, our final step is to kind of wipe it off, make sure that it's all matted down and ready to go.
If you don't regularly groom your dog, its fur will mat and become tangled.

Synonyms

to tangle

vsto mat

46 3.7

To twist things together so they are hard to pull apart

creates a thick pressed mass specifically in hair or fur rather than loose knots

to entangle

vsto mat

6 4.9

Twist things together so they are hard to separate

forms a compact pressed mass rather than loose twisted entanglement

to snarl

vsto mat

6 7.1

To make something more confused or tangled

involves physical pressing and compacting into a dense mass rather than mere complication

to matte

vsto mat

1 8.4

To make cloth or fur form tight, tangled patches from rubbing

is about fibers tangling and pressing into a thick mass rather than surface change

to felt

vsto mat

1 8.1

To make wool or other fibers mat together and form a thick cloth

describes tangling into a thick natural mass rather than intentional fabric making

to mat up

vsto mat

6.1

Hair or fabric becomes tangled and stuck together into a thick mass

is the single word form rather than a two word phrasal form

Idioms

to go to the mat

Informal

5 7.6

Argue strongly to protect an idea or position

to roll out the welcome mat

Informal

1 4.8

Make someone feel very welcome by giving special care

to called on the mat

Archaic

8.9

To have a boss or leader tell you off for doing something wrong

Phrasal Verbs

to mat up

6.1

Hair or fabric becomes tangled and stuck together into a thick mass

to put on the mat

8.4

Scold a person in front of others for a mistake

Compounds

welcome mat

10 1.7

A small mat outside a door for wiping shoes and greeting visitors

bath mat

4 1.0

A small rug on the bathroom floor that soaks up water and keeps you from slipping

prayer mat

2 2.5

A small rug Muslims kneel on when they pray

gym mat

1 1.6

A thick pad on the floor that makes landings softer and safer

wrestling mat

1 2.8

A thick padded surface that wrestlers use to avoid injury when they fall

beer mat

1 1.8

A small mat that you put under a glass of beer to stop drips

mat board

1 3.9

A stiff flat board you put around a picture inside a frame to protect and show it

place mat

1 1.2

A small mat under a person's plate that protects the table and decorates it

drip mat

3.7

A small mat placed under a glass to protect a table or counter from water

mat rep

Jargon

8.2

One time you do an exercise on a mat

mouse mat

2.5

A small pad under a computer mouse that helps it move smoothly

sea mat

9.9

A group of small animals that grow like underwater moss on rocks or seaweed

table mat

1.1

A small flat pad that goes under plates to protect the table from heat and scratches

water mat

9.9

A water plant with yellow flowers that grows at pond edges in western and central United States

water mat

3.1

A flat mat that floats on water for sitting, lying, or playing

How Tangled

to felt

1 8.1

to mat

1 4.9

to snarl

6 7.1

to tangle

46 3.7

Surface Forms

mat infinitive

matted past

matted past participle

matting present participle

mats third person singular

Etymology

To mat (verb) comes from the noun for a tangled bundle, meaning to make hair or fibers form into a thick, stuck-together 'mat', which is why we say hair can 'mat' without brushing.