1. A pair of people who live together
   - couple, match

1. South American tea-like drink made from leaves of a South American holly called mate

1. The officer below the master on a commercial ship
   - first mate 
2. A fellow member of a team
   - teammate 
3. The partner of an animal (especially a sexual partner)
   "he loved the mare and all her mates"; "camels hate leaving their mates" 
4. A person's partner in marriage
   - spouse, partner, married person, better half, other half [Brit] 
5. An exact duplicate
   - match 
6. One of a pair
   "he lost the mate to his shoe"
   - fellow 
7. South American holly; leaves used in making a drink like tea
   - Paraguay tea, Ilex paraguariensis 
8. [Brit] Informal term for a friend of the same sex 
9. A chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king
   - checkmate

1. Engage in sexual intercourse
   "Birds mate in the Spring"
   - copulate, pair, couple 
2. Bring two objects, ideas, or people together
   - match, couple, pair, twin 
3. Place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game
   - checkmate

See also: matey [Brit], mating

Type of: animal, animate being, associate, beast, beat, beat out, beverage, bring together, brute, chess move, conjoin, creature, crush, domestic partner, drink, drinkable, duplicate, duplication, family, family unit, fauna, flesh and blood, friend, holly, join, officer, potable, relation, relative, shell, ship's officer, significant other, singleton, spousal equivalent, spouse equivalent, trounce, vanquish

Part of: brace, couple, couplet, distich, duad, duet, duo, dyad, man and wife, marriage, married couple, pair, span, twain, twosome, yoke

Encyclopedia: Mate

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