matte

US: /mæt/ ,(mat)

Inflections of 'matte' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

mattes

v 3rd person singular

matting

v pres p

matted

v past

matted

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

matte¹ or mat  or matt /mæt/   adj., n., v., mat•ted or matt•ed, mat•ting or matt•ing. 
adj. 

1. having a dull surface;
   not shiny or glossy:
   matte paint.

n. [countable]

2. a dull surface, as on metals, paint, paper, or glass.

v. [~ + object]

3. to finish with a matte surface.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

matte¹  (mat), adj., n., v., mat•ted, mat•ting. 
adj. 

1. having a dull or lusterless surface:
   matte paint;
   a matte complexion;
   a photograph with a matte finish.

n. 

2. a dull or dead surface, often slightly roughened, as on metals, paint, paper, or glass.
3. a tool for producing such a surface.
4. Metallurgy an unfinished metallic product of the smelting of certain sulfide ores, esp. those of copper.
5. Cinema [Motion Pictures.] See matte shot. 

v.t. 

6. to finish with a matte surface.

Also, mat, matt. 

• *maditus, derivative of Latin madēre to be wet
• Late Latin mattus moist, soft, weak, perh.
• French mat (masculine), matte (feminine), Old French
• 1640–50

matte²  (mat), n. [Mining.]

1. Mining a mass of timber caved beneath overburden so as to cushion the fall of the overburden and separate it from mineral to be extracted beneath.

• German; akin to mat¹

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

matt  (mat), adj., n., v.t. 

1. Cinema matte¹.

Matt  (mat), n. 

1. a male given name, form of Matthew. 

Matt., 

1. Bible Matthew.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

matt, matte / mæt/ noun , adjective , verb

1. variant spellings of mat23,