beer mat

1 1.8

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

noun

: posavasos

The beer mat absorbed the spilled drink, preventing the table from getting wet.

Examples

Was that on the back of a beer mat?

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Posterity won't bear anything that can't be fitted on a beer mat.

Fiction book (1995)
Lying there on the bright tin table were the remains of the little scrap of sky, shredded the way Nina always ended up doing with anything that got in her hands, from silk scarves to beer mats.

Fiction book (1995)
Shredded beer mats lay sprinkled around the empty place which, only half an hour earlier, had been occupied by the penny loafers of the shy music student with the plait.

Fiction book (1997)
He placed his glass on a beer mat to protect the wooden table from the drips.
At the pub, she noticed the interesting design on her beer mat while waiting for her drink.

Synonyms

mat

vsbeer mat

136 1.0

A flat piece of material placed on the floor, like a doormat or gym mat

is narrower, used under a glass for that specific drink not for general use

drip mat

vsbeer mat

3.7

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

is placed under a glass for that specific drink rather than under any drinkware

How Protective

drip pan

1 3.0

beer mat

1 1.8

coaster

84 1.0

Surface Forms

beer mat singular

beer mats plural

Morphology

beer + mat

The meaning 'a small mat placed under a glass of beer' is directly and compositionally derived from 'beer' (the drink) + 'mat' (a flat protective piece). This simple noun–noun compound follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun beer mat comes from a simple picture: a small mat put under a glass of beer to catch drops and stop wet rings on the table. So, beer mat means 'a small mat or card placed under a beer glass to protect the table'.