yerba mate

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A South American plant whose dried leaves are steeped in hot water to make a bitter, caffeine-rich drink.

   Grammar: Uncountable when the plant or leaves are meant: a bag of yerba mate.

   Patterns

   • a bag of yerba mate
   • drink yerba mate

   She brought a bag of yerba mate back from Argentina.

   Yerba mate grows in the forests of Paraguay and southern Brazil.

   Farmers dry the yerba mate over a fire.

2. 2noununcountable

   The hot drink made from these leaves, often shared in a gourd and sipped through a metal straw.

   Grammar: Also countable informally for a serving: two yerba mates.

   Patterns

   • sip yerba mate
   • share yerba mate

   Friends passed the yerba mate around the circle.

   He drinks yerba mate instead of coffee in the morning.

   The yerba mate tasted smoky and a little bitter.

Common combinations

drink yerba mate

Many Uruguayans drink yerba mate all day.

sip yerba mate

She sipped yerba mate through a metal straw.

brew yerba mate

Brew yerba mate with water that is hot but not boiling.

yerba mate tea

Yerba mate tea has about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.

iced yerba mate

Iced yerba mate is sold in cans in many cafes.

Synonyms and how they differ

mate

Mate alone is the usual word in South America, but in English it can be confused with the friend meaning.

maté

Maté with an accent is a spelling that shows how to pronounce the final syllable.

tea

Tea is a general word and yerba mate is technically an infusion of a different plant.

herbal infusion

Herbal infusion is a general term and does not point to this specific drink.

Word family

yerba noun

Spanish word for herb

mate noun

the gourd or the drink in South America

matero noun

a person who drinks mate

Commonly confused: yerba mate or mate?

Practice

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