What does "match" mean?
A competitive sporting event such as a boxing meet (commonly called a "bout"), a baseball game, or a cricket match.
Match
/mæt͡ʃ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A competitive sporting event such as a boxing meet (commonly called a "bout"), a baseball game, or a cricket match.
- Grammar: match is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: couple, equal, a world-without-end bargain, accompany.
- Useful contrasts: mismatched, noncompliant design, breach.
- Usage evidence: To our surprise, he was defeated in the match.
How to use "match"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "match" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "match" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "match" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "match" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "match" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "couple" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "match", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A competitive sporting event such as a boxing meet (commonly called a "bout"), a baseball game, or a cricket match.
"My local team are playing in a match against their arch-rivals today."
- 2 A device made of wood or paper, having the tip coated with chemicals that ignite with the friction of being dragged (struck) against a rough dry surface.
"He struck a match and lit his cigarette."
- 3 lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction wordnet
- 4 Any contest or trial of strength or skill, or to determine superiority.
"Ferrer his Taberd vvith rich Verry ſpred, / VVell knovvne in many a vvarlike match before; […]"
- 5 an exact duplicate wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 Someone with a measure of an attribute equaling or exceeding the object of comparison.
"He knew he had met his match."
- 7 a burning piece of wood or cardboard wordnet
- 8 A marriage.
- 9 something that resembles or harmonizes with wordnet
- 10 A candidate for matrimony; one to be gained in marriage.
"She […] was looked upon as the richest match of the West."
- 11 a formal contest in which two or more persons or teams compete wordnet
- 12 Suitability.
- 13 a pair of people who live together wordnet
- 14 Equivalence; a state of correspondence.
"The seat to window match is excellent and there are half-size partition screens between bays."
- 15 a person who is of equal standing with another in a group wordnet
- 16 Equality of conditions in contest or competition.
"It were no match, your nail against his horn."
- 17 a person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect wordnet
- 18 A pair of items or entities with mutually suitable characteristics.
"The carpet and curtains are a match."
- 19 the score needed to win a match wordnet
- 20 An agreement or compact.
"Thy hand upon that match."
- 21 A perforated board, block of plaster, hardened sand, etc., in which a pattern is partly embedded when a mould is made, for giving shape to the surfaces of separation between the parts of the mould.
Verb
- 1 To agree; to be equal; to correspond. intransitive
"Their interests didn't match, so it took a long time to agree what to do together."
- 2 make equal, uniform, corresponding, or matching wordnet
- 3 To agree with; to be equal to; to correspond to. transitive
"His interests didn't match her interests."
- 4 be equal or harmonize wordnet
- 5 To equal or exceed in achievement. transitive
"She matched him at every turn: anything he could do, she could do as well or better."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 make correspond or harmonize wordnet
- 7 To make a successful match or pairing. transitive
"They found out about his color-blindness when he couldn't match socks properly."
- 8 set into opposition or rivalry wordnet
- 9 To unite in marriage, to mate. obsolete
"[…]Adam's sons are my brethren; and truly, I hold it a sin to match in my kindred."
- 10 bring two objects, ideas, or people together wordnet
- 11 To fit together, or make suitable for fitting together; specifically, to furnish with a tongue and groove at the edges.
"to match boards"
- 12 give or join in marriage wordnet
- 13 To be an example of a rule or regex. transitive
"The behavior matched one or more rules and was rejected by an edit filter."
- 14 provide funds complementary to wordnet
- 15 be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics wordnet
- 16 be equal to in quality or ability wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"To our surprise, he was defeated in the match."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "match"?
Common synonyms include: couple, equal, a world-without-end bargain, accompany, accord, accorded.
How do you use "match" in a sentence?
To our surprise, he was defeated in the match.
How do you pronounce "match"?
Pronounced /mæt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English macche, mecche, from Old English mæċċa, ġemæċċa (“companion, mate, wife, one suited to another”), from Proto-West Germanic *makkjō, *gamakkjō (“partner, equal”), from Proto-Germanic *makô, from Proto-Indo-European *mag- (“to knead, work”). Compare Danish mage (“mate”), Icelandic maki (“spouse”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English macchen (“to marry; be paired with”), from the noun (see above).
Etymology 3
From Middle English macche, mecche (“wick (of a candle)”), from Old French mesche, meische, from Vulgar Latin micca (compare Catalan metxa, Spanish mecha, Italian miccia), which in turn is probably from Latin myxa (“nozzle, curved part of a lamp”), from Ancient Greek μύξα (múxa, “lamp wick”).