matey
adjective, noun
matey is spelled M-A-T-E-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, matey means “Sociable or friendly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in matey?
| Letters | 5: M-A-T-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,954th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 matey?
Matey appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th 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 matey?
- Australia
Matey has 2 syllables (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-au-matey.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with matey?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as matey.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: meaty.
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 matey
- matier comparative
- matiest superlative
- mateys plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matey mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
UKSociable or friendly.
You've been very matey with that new bird.
noun
- 1
informalDiminutive of mate, friend.
Hello, matey, just back from the pub?
- 2
slangA fellow sailor; often used affectedly, especially when portraying a pirate.
Ahoy mateys, scrub the deck!
- 3
slangA dockyard worker.
- 4
Alternative form of maty (“native house servant in India”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does matey come from?
From mate + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).