1
- the sexual partner of a bird or other animal（鸟兽的）偶：
a male bird sings to court a mate.
雄鸟鸣叫求偶。
1.1
- informal a person's husband, wife, or other sexual partner〈非正式〉配偶; 丈夫; 妻子; 性伙伴。
1.2
- informal one of a matched pair〈非正式〉配对物, 一对中的一个：
a sock without its mate.
单只袜。
2
- in combination a fellow member or joint occupant of a specified thing同学, 同桌, 室友［用于合成词, 表示指明的同伴］：
his tablemates.
与他同桌吃饭的人。
3
- Brit. informal a friend or companion〈英, 非正式〉朋友; 伴侣：
I was with a mate
我和一个同伴在一起
my best mate Steve.
我最好的朋友史蒂夫。
3.1
- used as a friendly form of address between men or boys老兄, 老弟［用于男人或男孩之间的友善称呼］：
'See you then, mate.'
“再见, 老弟。”
4
- chiefly Brit. an assistant or deputy in certain trades〈主英〉助手, 副手：
a plumber's mate.
管子工的下手。
4.1
- an officer on a merchant ship subordinate to the master大副。参见FIRST MATE.
1
- no obj.(of animals or birds) come together for breeding; copulate（鸟, 兽）交配, 交尾：
successful males may mate with many females
获胜的雄性可以同许多雌性交配
as noun mating ovulation occurs only if mating has taken place.只有在已交配的情况下才会排卵。
1.1
- with obj. bring (animals or birds) together for breeding将（鸟或兽）聚拢在一起进行繁殖。
1.2
- humorous join in marriage or sexual partnership〈幽默〉结婚; 发生性关系：
people tend to mate with others in their own social class.
人们倾向于和自己同一社会阶层的人成婚。
2
- with obj. join or connect mechanically连接, 配备：
a four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed gearbox.
配有5速齿轮箱的4缸发动机。
2.1
- no obj. be connected or joined连接, 结合。
派生词
mateless
adjective词源
late Middle English: from Middle Low German māt（e） 'comrade', of West Germanic origin; related to MEAT (the underlying notion being that of eating together).
- Chess short for CHECKMATE.【棋】CHECKMATE的简称。
短语
fool's mate
- a game in which White is mated by Black's queen on the second move走第二步棋时白方就被黑方后将死的败局。
scholar's mate
- a game in which White mates Black on the fourth move with the queen, supported by the king's bishop走第四步棋时白方用后和王象把黑方将死的棋局。
词源
Middle English: the noun from Anglo-Norman French mat （from the phrase eschec mat 'checkmate'）; the verb from Anglo-Norman French mater 'to checkmate'.