MATCH
What does "MATCH" mean?
A short stick tipped with chemicals that ignites when struck against a rough surface.
Meanings
- A small fire-starting stick whose coated head bursts into flame when scraped. She struck a match and the candle caught.
- A contest or game between opponents. The tennis match went to five sets.
- A person or thing that corresponds to or equals another. These two socks aren't a match.
- To correspond, agree with, or be equal to something else. Your story doesn't match the receipt.
- To pair compatible people or things together. The app matches travelers heading the same way.
Did you know?
- The first friction match was an accident: English chemist John Walker noticed a coated stick burst into flame when he scraped it on the hearth in 1826 - and he never bothered to patent it.
Word origin
Two separate roots fused: the fire sense from Old French 'mesche' (a lamp wick), via Latin and Greek for wick; the 'equal/pair' sense from Old English 'gemæcca' (mate, companion).
Remember it
One word, two stories: a striking MATCH for a fire and a winning MATCH for a game - both about who or what meets the moment.
A little poem
One scrape, and the dark
loses its argument-
small flame, large silence.
haiku
Wordplay
- I introduced two strangers and one struck me as flammable. Turns out they were a perfect match.
What it teaches
A match holds its whole purpose in one strike: some things exist to be spent, not saved.
Quick facts
What does MATCH mean?
A short stick tipped with chemicals that ignites when struck against a rough surface.
Is MATCH a valid word?
Yes — MATCH is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is MATCH?
MATCH has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does MATCH come from?
Two separate roots fused: the fire sense from Old French 'mesche' (a lamp wick), via Latin and Greek for wick; the 'equal/pair' sense from Old English 'gemæcca' (mate, companion).
What can MATCH teach us?
A match holds its whole purpose in one strike: some things exist to be spent, not saved.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.