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PlainSpell

mate

[meɪt]noun, verb

mate is spelled M-A-T-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 35 times per million words in written English, the 2,725th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mate means “A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mate is mates or matés.

How many letters and syllables are in mate?

Letters4: M-A-T-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing35 times per million words; the 2,725th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is mate?

Mate appears 35 times per million words in written English, the 2,725th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce mate?

  • /meɪt/
  • US [meɪt]
  • British [mɛjt]

Mate has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-mate.ogg, En-au-mate.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-maté.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with mate?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as mate (/æteɪ/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: team, meat, meta, tame.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of mate

  • mates plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • mating participle, present
  • mated participle, past
  • matés plural
  • matë
  • matës plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does mate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.

  2. 2

    A breeding partner.

  3. 3

    AustraliaIrelandUKcolloquialA friend, usually of the same sex.

    I'm going to the pub with a few mates.

  4. 4

    AustraliaIrelandUKcolloquialFriendly term of address to a stranger, usually male, of similar age.

    Excuse me, mate, have you got the time?

  5. 5

    In naval ranks, a non-commissioned officer or his subordinate (e.g. Boatswain's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Sailmaker's Mate, etc).

  6. 6

    A ship's officer, subordinate to the master on a commercial ship.

  7. 7

    A first mate.

  8. 8

    A technical assistant in certain trades (e.g. gasfitter's mate, plumber's mate); sometimes an apprentice.

  9. 9

    Alternative spelling of maté, an aromatic tea-like drink prepared from the holly yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis).

  10. 10

    The abovementioned plant; the leaves and shoots used for the tea

  11. 11

    Clipping of checkmate.

verb

  1. 1

    To match, fit together without space between.

    The pieces of the puzzle mate perfectly.

  2. 2

    To copulate.

  3. 3

    To pair in order to raise offspring.

  4. 4

    To arrange in matched pairs.

  5. 5

    To introduce (animals) together for the purpose of breeding.

  6. 6

    To copulate with.

  7. 7

    To marry; to match (a person).

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo match oneself against; to oppose as equal; to compete with.

  9. 9

    Clipping of checkmate.

  10. 10

    obsoleteTo confuse; to confound.

noun

as maté
  1. 1

    An evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, native to South America, cultivated for its leaves.

  2. 2

    A beverage, resembling tea, made from the dried leaves of this plant.

    We spent a month in Buenos Aires drinking nothing but maté and Fernet with soda.

  3. 3

    A cup of this drink.

  4. 4

    The container used to prepare this drink, traditionally a small calabash.

noun

as matë
  1. 1

    rareAlternative spelling of maté.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Mate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Portugueseparceiro, parceira, parceiros, parceiras (of breeding animal: sexual partner), mano, camarada (friend – see also friend)
Spanishpareja (of breeding animal: sexual partner), mano, colega (friend – see also friend), compañero (other member of a pair), socio (fellow, associate, colleague (in combination)), juntarse (intransitive: pair in order to raise offspring)
GermanKumpel, Kollege, Freund (friend – see also friend), Gegenstück (other member of a pair), Maat (nautical: ship's officer on commercial vessel), sich paaren (intransitive: copulate)
Frenchcopain, camarade (friend – see also friend), s'accoupler (intransitive: copulate)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

What to look up after mate