matrix
- 1A set of numbers arranged in rows and columns, used in math.
This matrix has three rows and four columns of numbers.
The teacher showed us how to add two matrices together.
UsageMore than one is matrices.
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- 2
- 3The material in a living thing that other, more specialized parts are set in.
The hard matrix of bone holds the living cells inside it.
Under the microscope, tiny structures could be seen floating in a soft matrix.
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- 4
- 5In a mixed material, the part that holds the fibers or pieces together, like resin in fiberglass.
In fiberglass, the glass threads give strength and the matrix holds them in place.
If the matrix cracks, the fibers inside can pull apart.
Similarbinder
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- 6A set of electronic parts arranged in a grid, often used to store or decode information.
The keyboard uses a matrix of wires to tell which key was pressed.
A diode matrix in the old machine turned each code into a signal.
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- 7The rock or soil that surrounds and holds fossils, crystals, or old objects.
The fossil was still half buried in the gray matrix of the rock.
Tiny crystals of gold were scattered through a matrix of white quartz.
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- 8The thick liquid inside the inner wall of a mitochondrion, the tiny power plant inside a cell.
Inside the mitochondrion, the matrix is where much of the cell's energy is made.
Students labeled the matrix on their diagram of a mitochondrion.
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Less common meanings
- 9A pretend world made by computers that people live in without knowing it is not real.
In the story, a man learns that the world he knows is only a matrix built by computers.
Sometimes I joke that we are all living in the Matrix.
UsagePeople often write the Matrix.
Similarsimulation
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- 10
- 11In printmaking, the plate or block that carries the inked picture to be printed.
The artist cut the picture into a wooden matrix and rolled ink over it.
A worn matrix prints a fainter image each time.
Similarplate
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- 12The womb, the part of the body where a baby grows before birth.
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- 13Everything in a test sample except the substance being tested for.
- 14The jelly or liquid that bacteria are grown in for study.
- 15Used of a clause that has another, smaller clause inside it.
- 16The five basic colors in dyeing, black, white, blue, red, and yellow, that other colors are mixed from.
More uses
- matrix managementa way of organizing a company where people report to two managers
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of matrix apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from Latin mātrīx, "womb", which came from māter, "mother".
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- English matrix comes from Latin mātrīx, meaning "womb". en.wiktionary.org
- Latin mātrīx derives from māter, meaning "mother". en.wiktionary.org