WordWeb Online

1. A pair of people who are married to each other or are in a romantic relationship
   - couple, match

1. A fellow member of a team
   "it was his first start against his former mates";
   - teammate
    
2. [Brit, informal] A person you know well and regard with affection and trust
   - friend, china [Brit, informal]
    
3. The partner of an animal (especially a sexual partner)
   "he loved the mare and all her mates"; "camels hate leaving their mates"
    
4. [informal] A person's partner in marriage
   - spouse, partner, married person, better half [informal], other half [Brit, informal]
    
5. An exact duplicate
   "when a mate is found an entry is made in the notebook";
   - match
    
6. One of a pair
   "he lost the mate to his shoe";
   - fellow
    
7. [informal] An informal and friendly term of address to a stranger
   - buddy [informal]
    
8. The officer below the master on a commercial ship
   - first mate
    
9. A chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king
   - checkmate
    
10. South American holly; leaves used in making a drink like tea
    - Paraguay tea, Ilex paraguariensis

1. Engage in sexual intercourse
   "Birds mate in the spring";
   - copulate, pair, couple
    
2. Bring two objects, ideas, or people together
   "Matchmaker, can you mate my daughter with a nice young man?";
   - match, couple, pair, twin
    
3. (chess) place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game
   "Kasparov mated his opponent after only a few moves";
   - checkmate

Type of: animal, animate being, associate, beast, beat, beat out, brute, chess move, conjoin [formal], creature, crush, domestic partner, duplicate, duplication, family, family unit, fauna, flesh and blood, holly, individual, join, mortal, officer, person, relation, relative, shell, ship's officer, significant other, singleton, somebody, someone, soul, 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: Mates, Dates and Sleepover Secrets