mating 1 of 2

mating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mate
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
Noun
Each group of lemurs (called a troop) has a core female group that dominates mating, territory, and resource distribution. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 July 2026 Canine transmissible venereal tumor, or CTVT, is a genital cancer that dogs pass to one another during mating. John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Crickets and cockroaches have much smaller cerci used to sense vibrations in the air, but Stokes explained that earwigs use their cerci for defense, hunting, mating and courtship. Hannah Smith july 22, Idaho Statesman, 22 July 2026 Game of thrones The team started by taking mating pairs out of a colony away from any queen. Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026 In four-day periods every year from March to August, legions of small, silver fish called grunion ride the waves ashore for mating rituals, beginning on the nights of the full and new moons. Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026 More prominent in males, these pincers are primarily used for defense and mating displays. Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 July 2026 That includes mating—most of the world’s population carries Neanderthal DNA to this day. Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 6 July 2026 The females and males that develop from the pupae end up mating, which leaves the males and females in the wild to continue mating and laying eggs. Alice Park, Time, 2 July 2026
Verb
Bucks will regrow their antlers every year ahead of mating season, and then shed them during the late winter, after mating season is over, the university stated on its website. Julia Gomez, USA Today, 23 July 2026 Wild turkeys can be particularly aggressive during mating season. Elan Abrell, The Conversation, 22 July 2026 The females and males that develop from the pupae end up mating, which leaves the males and females in the wild to continue mating and laying eggs. Alice Park, Time, 2 July 2026 Turning the biology against the pest So researchers have begun to refine the idea rather than replace it, keeping the once-mating biology at the center but letting the insects spread the effect themselves. Ethan Stone, AZCentral.com, 17 June 2026 The New World screwworm's larvae eat live flesh and fluids instead of dead material, with females laying their eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes after mating only once in their monthslong lives. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 12 June 2026 By mating with sterile flies, the females don't produce more flies and outbreaks can eventually be halted. ABC News, 8 June 2026 By mating with sterile flies, the females don’t produce more flies and outbreaks can eventually be halted. Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026 Darkness is essential to fireflies for mating and increasing their population. Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 6 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mating
Noun
  • After intercourse, the teenager had snapped photos of her naked body on a futon as evidence.
    Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 16 July 2026
  • The two counts of rape Høiby was convicted of did not involve intercourse.
    Gwladys Fouche, USA Today, 15 June 2026
Verb
  • The lower level also includes a separate heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, three guest suites, and a bunk suite sleeping four.
    Joe Marusak July 31, Charlotte Observer, 31 July 2026
  • Other symptoms might include difficulty sleeping and eating or maintaining personal hygiene.
    Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 31 July 2026
Noun
  • Postwar intellectuals used psychoanalytic ideas in a variety of ways, including to discuss race relations and homosexuality.
    Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Rather, the pivotal transactions, graphed like the peaks and valleys of a volatile stock index, are the relations between men and women.
    Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Screen, then securely close rain barrels to help keep mosquitoes from breeding, too.
    Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Google applied for an experimental use permit to inject mosquitoes with a specific strain of the Wolbachia pipientis bacteria, which would prevent them from breeding.
    Kimberly Miller, USA Today, 31 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mating. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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