as in sex
sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis
if the mare doesn't get pregnant from this mating, you don't have to pay for the second try
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in sleeping
to engage in sexual intercourse
cats conceive almost every time they mate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mating
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025
Landscape Second Category Fauna And Flora After mating, a male leopard must escape the female’s claws within seconds.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
After a few months, following natural mating patterns, healthy mice babies were born with relatively normal gene expression.
—Jessica Rendall, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Courtship begins in April, mating follows in May and June, and females typically lay 20 to 50 eggs in late June or early July.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
This mating excursion for male tarantulas can be an adventure in survival for several reasons, including an attack by a female tarantula wasp or the mating encounter that males may not survive.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Amy Woodyatt, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
The colony quickly descended into indiscriminate violence, stopped mating, and died out.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2025
Birds of Paradise, for example, have mating rituals so intricate and elaborate that people form clubs just to catch a glimpse of the show.
—Joe Salas
august 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2025
Others suggest that some of them were used in combat or displays that were essential for mating success.
—ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Fall is also mating season for the park’s elk herds, which migrate down from the high peaks as the temperature drops; look for them along Bear Lake Road and in the Colorado River Valley on the west side.
—Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 25 Aug. 2025
Timely because those big, hairy but harmless tarantulas become more visible in the next few weeks as spider-mating season begins and fascinating because of what the male tarantula must go through to survive.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Emily Cooper The ideal approach to mating the two different materials involved would be to grow III-V semiconductors directly on silicon, an approach called monolithic integration.
—Roel Baets, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2023
Noun
Researchers in Taiwan documented this rare case of a predator exploiting its prey’s mating signal to its own advantage.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025
Landscape Second Category Fauna And Flora After mating, a male leopard must escape the female’s claws within seconds.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
After a few months, following natural mating patterns, healthy mice babies were born with relatively normal gene expression.
—Jessica Rendall, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Courtship begins in April, mating follows in May and June, and females typically lay 20 to 50 eggs in late June or early July.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
This mating excursion for male tarantulas can be an adventure in survival for several reasons, including an attack by a female tarantula wasp or the mating encounter that males may not survive.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Verb
The disease spreads in koala populations through reproduction and social behavior connected to mating.
—Amy Woodyatt, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
The colony quickly descended into indiscriminate violence, stopped mating, and died out.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2025
Birds of Paradise, for example, have mating rituals so intricate and elaborate that people form clubs just to catch a glimpse of the show.
—Joe Salas
august 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2025
Others suggest that some of them were used in combat or displays that were essential for mating success.
—ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Fall is also mating season for the park’s elk herds, which migrate down from the high peaks as the temperature drops; look for them along Bear Lake Road and in the Colorado River Valley on the west side.
—Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 25 Aug. 2025
Timely because those big, hairy but harmless tarantulas become more visible in the next few weeks as spider-mating season begins and fascinating because of what the male tarantula must go through to survive.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Emily Cooper The ideal approach to mating the two different materials involved would be to grow III-V semiconductors directly on silicon, an approach called monolithic integration.
—Roel Baets, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mating
Noun
-
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January saying that the federal government will only recognize two sexes: male and female.—
Sonam Sheth
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast serve as aggregation sites for sand tiger sharks, and the digital photographs captured by those in the water often show bite wounds on both sexes.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Earlier this year, Black celebrated the birth of another son, who was sleeping peacefully at home as Black recounted his story.—
Cara Anthony,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
-
There is no headboard, but when placed against a wall or in a corner, there’s still plenty of space to lean and lounge when not sleeping.—
Erika Owen,
Architectural Digest,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Painful intercourse is not a thing in your world.—
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira,
Flow Space,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The Catholic Church believes intercourse should only happen between married couples and teaches abstinence for all others.—
Ladan Anoushfar,
CNN Money,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And the American redstart — a jetblack little fellow with orange splashes — pretty much stopped breeding here in the early 2000s.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
10 Sep. 2025
-
They’re spotted foraging on golf courses and even breeding in suburban wetlands near Chicago.—
Tom Langen,
The Conversation,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The designation reflects the deteriorating relations between the United States and one of its closest Latin American allies.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
-
In fact, Astorino said, developments in AI, policy, geopolitical relations and the economy are likely to accelerate both change and complexity.—
Megan Poinski,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mating. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share