use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

mate 1 (māt)
Share:
n.
1. One of a matched pair: the mate to this glove.
2. A spouse or romantic partner.
3.
a. Either of a pair of birds or other animals that associate in order to propagate.
b. Either of a pair of animals brought together for breeding.
c. Either of a pair of plants, fungi, or other organisms that engage in sexual reproduction or conjugation with each other.
4.
a. A person with whom one is in close association; an associate.
b. Chiefly British A good friend or companion.
c. A person with whom one shares living quarters. Often used in combination: advertised for a new flatmate.
5. A deck officer on a merchant ship ranking next below the master.
6. A US Navy petty officer who is an assistant to a warrant officer.
v. mat·ed, mat·ing, mates
v.tr.
1. To join closely or combine: an engine that is mated to a four-speed transmission.
2. To cause to be united in marriage or a romantic sexual relationship.
3. To cause (organisms) to breed or bring (organisms) into close proximity for breeding.
v.intr.
1. To become joined in marriage or a romantic sexual relationship.
2.
a. To be paired for reproducing; breed.
b. To engage in sexual reproduction or conjugation.

[Middle English, from Middle Low German gemate, mate, messmate.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
mate 2 (māt)
Share:
n.
A checkmate.
tr. & intr.v. mat·ed, mat·ing, mates
To checkmate or achieve a checkmate.

[Middle English, from Old French mat, checkmated, from Arabic māt, he has died; see CHECKMATE.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
ma·te 3 (mätā) also ma·té (mä-tĕ)
Share:
n.
1. An evergreen shrub or small tree (Ilex paraguariensis) of South America, widely cultivated for its leaves, which are used to prepare a tealike beverage.
2. A tealike beverage, popular in South America, made from the dried leaves of this plant.Also called Paraguay tea, yerba mate.
3. An oval or rounded container or cup, traditionally made from a hollow calabash, in which this tea is prepared and served.

[American Spanish , from Quechua mati, calabash container.]
(click for a larger image)
mate3
bombilla (foreground) and mate cup(background)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.