Mate vs. Friend — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on November 5, 2023
A mate can be a friend or a colloquial term for a companion, often used in UK/AU English, while a friend is someone with whom there is mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.
Difference Between Mate and Friend
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Key Differences
Mate often connotes a sense of camaraderie or companionship that can be informal or general. The term is frequently used in British and Australian English to refer to a friend or acquaintance in an informal setting. Friend refers to a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. It implies a deeper connection and mutual affection that goes beyond mere acquaintance or casual association.
While 'mate' is used casually and can often be interchangeable with 'friend,' it may lack the implication of a deep bond or emotional connection that 'friend' carries. For instance, in Australia, one might call a stranger 'mate' in a friendly manner, whereas 'friend' would typically not be used in this context unless there was an existing relationship.
A mate can also be understood contextually; in nautical terms, it refers to an officer on a ship, or in life partnership, it can mean a sexual partner or spouse. In contrast, 'friend' is mostly free from these alternative meanings, retaining its position to represent platonic relationships.
The intimacy implied by 'friend' can often be seen through the various levels of friendship, such as best friends, close friends, or childhood friends. 'Mate,' on the other hand, does not inherently carry these levels of closeness and is generally more uniform in its usage.
In summary, 'mate' can be seen as a more casual term for a friend or companion, often used in specific English-speaking cultures, while 'friend' is a more widely used term that denotes a mutual bond and personal affection.
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Comparison Chart
Connotation
Informal, colloquial.
Personal, affectionate.
Cultural Usage
Common in UK/AU English.
Universal.
Intimacy Level
Can be low or situational.
Generally denotes closer bond.
Alternative Meanings
Can mean partner or naval officer.
Primarily means companion.
Relationship Duration
Can be temporary or casual.
Often implies long-term bond.
Compare with Definitions
Mate
Companion or partner
She’s been my mate on many travel adventures.
Friend
Person with mutual affection
I’m meeting a friend for coffee later.
Mate
One of a matched pair
The mate to this glove.
Friend
One who is trustworthy
I consider him a friend, someone I can rely on.
Mate
A spouse or romantic partner.
Friend
A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
Mate
Either of a pair of birds or other animals that associate in order to propagate.
Friend
A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
Mate
Either of a pair of animals brought together for breeding.
Friend
A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
Mate
Either of a pair of plants, fungi, or other organisms that engage in sexual reproduction or conjugation with each other.
Friend
One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement
Friends of the clean air movement.
Mate
A person with whom one is in close association; an associate.
Friend
Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.
Mate
Chiefly British A good friend or companion.
Friend
(Informal) To add (someone) as a friend on a social networking website.
Mate
A person with whom one shares living quarters. Often used in combination
Advertised for a new flatmate.
Friend
(Archaic) To befriend.
Mate
A deck officer on a merchant ship ranking next below the master.
Friend
A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
John and I have been friends ever since we were roommates at college.
Trust is important between friends.
I used to find it hard to make friends when I was shy.
We became friends in the war and remain friends to this day.
We were friends with some girls from the other school and stayed friends with them.
Mate
A US Navy petty officer who is an assistant to a warrant officer.
Friend
An associate who provides assistance.
The Automobile Association is every motorist's friend.
The police is every law-abiding citizen's friend.
Mate
A checkmate.
Friend
A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.
A friend of a friend;
I added him as a friend on Facebook, but I hardly know
Mate
An evergreen shrub or small tree (Ilex paraguariensis) of South America, widely cultivated for its leaves, which are used to prepare a tealike beverage.
Friend
A person who backs or supports something.
I’m not a friend of cheap wine.
Mate
A tealike beverage, popular in South America, made from the dried leaves of this plant.Also called Paraguay tea, yerba mate.
Friend
(informal) An object or idea that can be used for good.
Fruit is your friend.
Mate
An oval or rounded container or cup, traditionally made from a hollow calabash, in which this tea is prepared and served.
Friend
Used as a form of address when warning someone.
You’d better watch it, friend.
Mate
To join closely or combine
An engine that is mated to a four-speed transmission.
Friend
(object-oriented programming) A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.
Mate
To cause to be united in marriage or a romantic sexual relationship.
Friend
(climbing) A spring-loaded camming device.
Mate
To cause (organisms) to breed or bring (organisms) into close proximity for breeding.
Friend
(euphemistic) A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Mate
To become joined in marriage or a romantic sexual relationship.
Friend
A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.
Friends agree best at a distance.
Make friends of framet folk.
Mate
To be paired for reproducing; breed.
Friend
To act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.
Mate
To engage in sexual reproduction or conjugation.
Friend
(transitive) To add (a person) to a list of friends on a social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.
Mate
To checkmate or achieve a checkmate.
Friend
One who entertains for another such sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection that he seeks his society and welfare; a wellwisher; an intimate associate; sometimes, an attendant.
Want gives to know the flatterer from the friend.
A friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Mate
A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.
Friend
One not inimical or hostile; one not a foe or enemy; also, one of the same nation, party, kin, etc., whose friendly feelings may be assumed. The word is some times used as a term of friendly address.
Friend, how camest thou in hither?
Mate
(especially of a non-human animal) A breeding partner.
Friend
One who looks propitiously on a cause, an institution, a project, and the like; a favorer; a promoter; as, a friend to commerce, to poetry, to an institution.
Mate
A friend, usually of the same sex.
I'm going to the pub with a few mates.
He's my best mate.
Friend
One of a religious sect characterized by disuse of outward rites and an ordained ministry, by simplicity of dress and speech, and esp. by opposition to war and a desire to live at peace with all men. They are popularly called Quakers.
America was first visited by Friends in 1656.
Mate
Friendly term of address to a stranger, usually male, of similar age.
Excuse me, mate, have you got the time?
Friend
A paramour of either sex.
Mate
(nautical) In naval ranks, a non-commissioned officer or his subordinate (e.g. Boatswain's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Sailmaker's Mate, etc).
Friend
To act as the friend of; to favor; to countenance; to befriend.
Fortune friends the bold.
Mate
(nautical) A ship's officer, subordinate to the master on a commercial ship.
Friend
A person you know well and regard with affection and trust;
He was my best friend at the university
Mate
(nautical) A first mate.
Friend
An associate who provides assistance;
He's a good ally in fight
They were friends of the workers
Mate
A technical assistant in certain trades (e.g. gasfitter's mate, plumber's mate); sometimes an apprentice.
Friend
A person with whom you are acquainted;
I have trouble remembering the names of all my acquaintances
We are friends of the family
Mate
The other member of a matched pair of objects.
I found one of the socks I wanted to wear, but I couldn't find its mate.
Friend
A person who backs a politician or a team etc.;
All their supporters came out for the game
They are friends of the library
Mate
A suitable companion; a match; an equal.
Friend
A member of the Religious Society of Friends founded by George Fox (the Friends have never called themselves Quakers)
Mate
(chess) checkmate
Friend
One who supports and cares
A true friend helps you in tough times.
Mate
Senseid|en|drink}} {{alternative spelling of maté, an aromatic tea-like drink prepared from the holly yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis).
Friend
Non-romantic companion
She’s been my friend since childhood.
Mate
The abovementioned plant; the leaves and shoots used for the tea
Friend
Member of a social circle
Our group of friends goes way back.
Mate
(intransitive) To match, fit together without space between.
The pieces of the puzzle mate perfectly.
Mate
(intransitive) To copulate.
Mate
(intransitive) To pair in order to raise offspring.
Mate
(transitive) To arrange in matched pairs.
Mate
(transitive) To introduce (animals) together for the purpose of breeding.
Mate
To copulate with.
Mate
(transitive) To marry; to match (a person).
Mate
To match oneself against; to oppose as equal; to compete with.
Mate
(transitive) To fit (objects) together without space between.
Mate
(intransitive) To come together as companions, comrades, partners, etc.
Mate
To move (a space shuttle orbiter) onto the back of an aircraft that can carry it.
Mate
(chess) checkmate
Mate
(obsolete) To confuse; to confound.
Mate
The Paraguay tea, being the dried leaf of the Brazilian holly (Ilex Paraguensis). The infusion has a pleasant odor, with an agreeable bitter taste, and is much used for tea in South America.
Mate
Same as Checkmate.
Mate
One who customarily associates with another; a companion; an associate; any object which is associated or combined with a similar object.
Mate
Hence, specifically, a husband or wife; and among the lower animals, one of a pair associated for propagation and the care of their young.
Mate
A suitable companion; a match; an equal.
Ye knew me once no mateFor you; there sitting where you durst not soar.
Mate
An officer in a merchant vessel ranking next below the captain. If there are more than one bearing the title, they are called, respectively, first mate, second mate, third mate, etc. In the navy, a subordinate officer or assistant; as, master's mate; surgeon's mate.
Mate
See 2d Mat.
Mate
To confuse; to confound.
Mate
To checkmate.
Mate
To match; to marry.
If she be mated with an equal husband.
Mate
To match one's self against; to oppose as equal; to compete with.
There is no passion in the mind of man so weak but it mates and masters the fear of death.
I, . . . in the way of loyalty and truth, . . .Dare mate a sounder man than Surrey can be.
Mate
To breed; to bring (animals) together for the purpose of breeding; as, she mated a doberman with a German shepherd.
Mate
To join together; to fit together; to connect; to link; as, he mated a saw blade to a broom handle to cut inaccessible branches.
Mate
To be or become a mate or mates, especially in sexual companionship; as, some birds mate for life; this bird will not mate with that one.
Mate
The officer below the master on a commercial ship
Mate
A fellow member of a team;
It was his first start against his former teammates
Mate
The partner of an animal (especially a sexual partner);
He loved the mare and all her mates
Camels hate leaving their mates
Mate
A person's partner in marriage
Mate
An exact duplicate;
When a match is found an entry is made in the notebook
Mate
South American holly; leaves used in making a drink like tea
Mate
Informal term for a friend of the same sex
Mate
South American tea-like drink made from leaves of a South American holly called mate
Mate
A chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king
Mate
Make love;
Birds mate in the Spring
Mate
Bring two objects, ideas, or people together;
This fact is coupled to the other one
Matchmaker, can you match my daughter with a nice young man?
The student was paired with a partner for collaboration on the project
Mate
Place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game;
Kasparov checkmated his opponent after only a few moves
Mate
Friend in UK/AU English
Hey mate, how's it going?
Mate
Naval officer
He served as first mate aboard the merchant ship.
Mate
Life partner
They've been mates since college.
Mate
Teammate in sports
My mate on the football team helped me train.
Common Curiosities
Can 'mate' be used for female friends?
Yes, though less common, it can be gender-neutral.
Can 'friend' refer to an animal?
Yes, people often refer to their pets as friends.
Is 'mate' a term of endearment?
It can be, but is often just a friendly address.
Can someone be a mate but not a friend?
Yes, 'mate' can refer to acquaintances or casual companions.
Are 'mates' always friends?
Not necessarily, 'mates' can be used for casual relationships too.
Is 'friend' ever used formally?
Rarely, it's typically reserved for personal relationships.
Do 'mate' and 'friend' mean the same in American English?
'Mate' is less common in American English and usually means friend.
Do children understand these terms differently?
Children may use 'friend' for any familiar peer, 'mate' less so.
Can a mate become a friend over time?
Yes, as the relationship deepens, a mate can become a friend.
Can 'mate' imply a business partner?
In some contexts, it might, though it's not the standard usage.
How does social media affect these terms?
Social media has broadened the definition of 'friend.'
Are online friends real friends?
They can be, depending on the depth of the connection.
Is it easier to make a mate or a friend?
Typically, it's easier to make a mate due to its informal use.
How do different cultures perceive 'mates'?
Some cultures may not use 'mate' at all, sticking to 'friend.'
Can the use of 'mate' vary within English-speaking countries?
Yes, its usage can be more prevalent in some regions than others.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
