1
as in halves
either of a pair matched in one or more qualities
have you seen the mate to this glove anywhere?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in associates
a person frequently seen in the company of another
that lout and his mates are known troublemakers in the neighborhood
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in assistants
chiefly British
a person who helps a more skilled person
a plumber and his mate showed up to fix the sink in our London hotel room
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in partners
the person to whom another is married
they vowed to each other that they would remain mates for life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in friends
chiefly British
a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another
spent the weekend in London with some of his mates from Oxford
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in sleeps
to engage in sexual intercourse
cats conceive almost every time they mate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mates
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Birds of prey, including eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons, circle overhead, while bison gather to compete for mates (around August) or to calve (which usually takes place in April).
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
Team-mates Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo and Mohammed Kudus, who joined rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £55m, were close companions during Summerville’s rehab.
—Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
In ancient humans and other primates, reputational damage can bar access to food and mates, incite physical confrontations and, in extreme cases, lead to potentially fatal ostracism.
—Clarissa Brincat, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2025
Brett Eskildsen #9 celebrates of the Iowa State Cyclones celebrates with team mates after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas State Wildcats during the Aer Lingus Classic College Football game at Aviva Stadium on August 23, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
But to distance yourself from the football club, from your team-mates, from the fans?
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Its primary food source is the winter firefly (Diaphanes lampyroides), which attracts mates with a continuous, non-flashing light.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025
Clooney, 64, wasn't present for a press junket promoting Jay Kelly, his new film directed by Noah Baumbach, and skipped a dinner with cast mates, including Adam Sandler and Laura Dern.
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
But when Joe gets pulled away by his old search-and-rescue squad mates, Slightly has to improvise and take advantage of the chaos in the lab caused by the eyeball, locking poor Arthur — one of the few adults on the island putting the Lost Boys’ safety above all else — inside to get his face hugged.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Birds of prey, including eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons, circle overhead, while bison gather to compete for mates (around August) or to calve (which usually takes place in April).
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
Team-mates Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo and Mohammed Kudus, who joined rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £55m, were close companions during Summerville’s rehab.
—Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
In ancient humans and other primates, reputational damage can bar access to food and mates, incite physical confrontations and, in extreme cases, lead to potentially fatal ostracism.
—Clarissa Brincat, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2025
Brett Eskildsen #9 celebrates of the Iowa State Cyclones celebrates with team mates after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas State Wildcats during the Aer Lingus Classic College Football game at Aviva Stadium on August 23, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
But to distance yourself from the football club, from your team-mates, from the fans?
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Its primary food source is the winter firefly (Diaphanes lampyroides), which attracts mates with a continuous, non-flashing light.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025
Clooney, 64, wasn't present for a press junket promoting Jay Kelly, his new film directed by Noah Baumbach, and skipped a dinner with cast mates, including Adam Sandler and Laura Dern.
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mates
Noun
-
Top bottom halves of biscuits with patties, about 2 tablespoons of the hash browns, and top halves of biscuits, cut sides down.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The Packers played one of their better first halves in a while and led, 17-3, at the break.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The plot centers around a former revolutionary who must reunite with old associates to find his missing daughter.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Bove's confirmation places a former personal lawyer to the president on a court that could hear cases involving the administration or its associates.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Dan Bale, who has known Skinner for a long time, joined in November 2023 and Carl Green, who worked with Skinner at Orlando Pride and Birmingham City, remain as first-team assistants.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Both companies develop large language models and AI assistants—OpenAI with ChatGPT, xAI with Grok—that target overlapping user bases.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Delivered to a high standard by Thales’s international team, in close collaboration with industry partners, this achievement showcases the quality, openness, and technical expertise that have defined Thales’s approach to the Type 31 delivery – earning praise from the Royal Navy.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Sep. 2025
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Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic.—
Data Skrive,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Helmed by friends Sarah Jackson, Emily Lilley, and Blaes Green, the store hosts 10 to 12 of them a month with genres ranging from graphic novels to cocktails.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
-
But all friends need to be honest with each other, to tell each other home truths when it’s needed, to confront those awkward moments without fear of the reaction.—
Steve Sedgwick,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Meiyun sleeps on the sofa, but even so Baoshu’s presence will be a problem for her relationship with Qifeng.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The exhausted teen has headaches and blurred vision sleeps about 75% of the day.—
Wendy Grossman Kantor,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Adam’s suicide is just one tragic death that parents have said occurred after their children confided in AI companions.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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Simpler designs with more cartoon-like features are more likely to be accepted as companions.—
Maya Cakmak,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Nolthenius and his colleagues had to rule out several other possibilities.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Even some of Barrett’s liberal colleagues have said the Constitution and the rule of law could be at risk.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mates. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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