Synonyms of mating

mating 1 of 2

noun

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

• sex
• intercourse
• relations
• copulation
• breeding
• coitus
• coupling
• sexuality
• making love
• copulating
• coition
• lovemaking
• sex act
• commerce
• sexual intercourse
• sexual relations
• getting it on
• fornication
• congress
• insemination
• safe sex
• carnality
• dalliance
• hanky-panky
• whoopee

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

• sleeping
• breeding
• doing it
• copulating
• having sex
• fornicating
• fooling around

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mating

Noun

The crab digs shallow burrows for mating and molting and frequently maintains several burrows within its territory, the USGS report states. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

The gear’s teeth and internal ribs came through clearly, as did the clip’s narrow gate and mating features. — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026

In early spring, the peepers fill the woodlands near small ponds with jingle-bell-like mating songs. — Sheryl Devore, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026

While the imagery around the show was overtly erotic, from the footage of mating snails and kissing bodies to the music and the projections, the clothes themselves were less about baring skin than creating a sense of sensuality. — Amy Francombe, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026

Against the sounds of traffic, the groups hear pigeon mating sounds and babies squeaking for food. — Kyle Melnick The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026

Males perform complex mating flights in the late summer months and into fall (August through October) which often involve intercepting prospective partners mid-air. — Sean Donnelly, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026

They’re commonly found mating, attached end-to-end while resting or even flying. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2026

Mu spent five Arctic summers in far-eastern Russia, where mating pairs each have their own territory. — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Verb

But though these chemicals are linked to mating in animal species, a link between pheromones and romantic attraction hasn’t been established in humans. — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 31 Aug. 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