Matt or matte?
matt is an adjective meaning “Alternative spelling of matte”; matte is an adjective meaning “Dull; not reflective of light”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) matt is about 11 times as common as matte.
What is the difference between matt and matte?
| matt | matte | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun, verb | noun, adjective, verb |
| Meaning | UKAlternative spelling of matte Alternative spelling of matte (“background, often painted or created with computers”) Alternative spelling of mat (“an alloy in coppersmithing”) | A decorative border around a picture used to inset and center the contents of a frame A background, often painted or created with computers USDull; not reflective of light |
| Example | none recorded | The image is a perfect square of 8 cm (with white matte border the total dimensions are 14 cm tall by 11 cm wide) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /mæt/ |
| In writing | 35 times per million words | 3.3 times per million words |
Sources: matt and matte in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of matt and matte
matt
- 1
UKAlternative spelling of matte
- 2
Alternative spelling of matte (“background, often painted or created with computers”)
- 3
Alternative form of matte (“to produce a dull, lustreless surface on metal”)
- 4
Alternative spelling of mat (“an alloy in coppersmithing”)
- 5
Alternative form of matte (“instrument for producing a dull, lustreless surface”)
matte
- 1
A decorative border around a picture used to inset and center the contents of a frame
The image is a perfect square of 8 cm (with white matte border the total dimensions are 14 cm tall by 11 cm wide)
- 2
USDull; not reflective of light
Flat or matte paint allows a deep color expression on the walls while also hiding flaws that may be inherent on the painted surface
- 3
To produce a dull, lustreless surface on (metal)
- 4
A background, often painted or created with computers
Matte painting is a tool that filmmakers can use to create a scene that is impossible to achieve with conventional cinematographic means
- 5
The molten metal sulfide phases typically formed during smelting of copper, nickel, and other base metals
- 6
An instrument for producing a dull, lustreless surface
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, matt or matte?
matt appears 35 times per million words; matte 3.3 times per million words.
matt 35 times per million wordsmatte 3.3 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search matt vs matte?
“matt vs matte” is searched about 90 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“matte vs matt”, “matt or matte”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.