What it means
The Swiss Army knife of Aussie address, used for friends, strangers, and the clown who just cut you off in traffic. Tone is everything: warm mate, flat mate, or that icy listen mate when someone’s pushing it. It gets chucked into sentences as filler, softener, or warning, and you’ll hear it everywhere from the pub to the checkout.
Usage examples
"Oi mate, that’s my park. Yeah right mate, I had the blinker on. Sure ya did. No worries mate, I’ll squeeze in round back."
"Cheers, mate, I owe you one."
"Oi mate, you've left your lights on."
Where it comes from
Goes back to the Middle Low German maat, a companion you shared meals with, related to meat. English took it for a fellow worker or friend, and Australia made it the all-purpose word for anyone at all.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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