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MATTRESS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A large thick pad filled with resilient material and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or part of a bed
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("mattress" is a kind of...):
pad (a flat mass of soft material used for protection, stuffing, or comfort)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mattress"):
air mattress (a mattress that can be stored flat and inflated for use)
feather bed; featherbed (a mattress stuffed with feathers)
futon (mattress consisting of a pad of cotton batting that is used for sleeping on the floor or on a raised frame)
paillasse; palliasse (mattress consisting of a thin pad filled with straw or sawdust)
pallet (a mattress filled with straw or a pad made of quilts; used as a bed)
spring mattress (a mattress containing springs in a rigid frame)
tick (a light mattress)
Holonyms ("mattress" is a part of...):
bed (a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb mattress
Context examples:
Through the cracks in the bottom of the upper bunk he had set fire to the mattress.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
By the time her mattress and box spring were delivered, Mercury was direct—and it arrived in perfect shape.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Use a protective cover that encases mattresses and box springs.
(Bedbugs, Environmental Protection Agency)
We were so short of men that everyone on board had to bear a hand—only the captain lying on a mattress in the stern and giving his orders, for though greatly recovered he was still in want of quiet.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
The mattress of the sofa (which was a great deal too short for his lank figure), the sofa pillows, a blanket, the table-cover, a clean breakfast-cloth, and a great-coat, made him a bed and covering, for which he was more than thankful.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
For herself, she did nothing but caper about in the front chambers, jump on and off the bedsteads, and lie on the mattresses and piled-up bolsters and pillows before the enormous fires roaring in the chimneys.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The damp straw of the mattress, fired from beneath and denied air, had been smouldering all the while.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
My daughter who lives in Los Angeles needed a new mattress and box spring, and I said I would give her that for her birthday.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
To get rid of bedbugs: • Wash and dry bedding and clothing at high temperatures. • Use mattress, box spring, and pillow encasements to trap bedbugs and help detect infestations. • Use pesticides if needed.
(Bedbugs, Environmental Protection Agency)
He had lain like a Trojan behind his mattress in the gallery; he had followed every order silently, doggedly, and well; he was the oldest of our party by a score of years; and now, sullen, old, serviceable servant, it was he that was to die.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
