🦢 Having a partner 🦾 Paired together

mated

4.1

Having a partner for life or to have young

adjective
/meɪtɪd/

: emparejado

The mated couple built a cozy nest for their offspring.

Examples

Mated pairs of both species defend nesting territories that extend only as far as they can jab with their pointed beaks while sitting on the nest.

Academic text (1996)
During the spring, mated swans gracefully glide across the lake.
In many species, only mated birds are seen caring for their young.

Synonyms

wedded

vsmated

Formal

1 2.4

Married to each other

is used more broadly for nonlegal partnerships or reproductive joining

paired

vsmated

2.8

Two animals kept together as a male and a female for breeding

is broader, used for human spouses or any reproductive partnership

Antonyms

single

96 1.8

A person who is not married or in a romantic relationship

unmated

7.6

Not having a partner for breeding

unpaired

5.6

The one item left from a pair when its partner is missing

How Paired

mated

4.1

paired

2.8

unpaired

5.6

Surface Forms

mated positive

Morphology

mated = mate (transparent) = mate + ed

The adjective 'mated' is transparently derived from the verb 'mate' with the suffix '-ed', indicating a state of having been joined or paired.

Etymology

Mated comes from the old word mate, which meant a 'companion' or 'partner', much like teammate or roommate today. So when animals or people are mated, they have a partner, often for life or to make young.