1. C 伙伴，同事　a friend or person one works with
2. C 配偶，伴侣　one of a male-female pair, usually of animals
3. C （商船上的）大副　(not in the navy) a ship's officer next in rank below the captain

　abandon〔choose〕 one's ～　抛弃〔选择〕配偶
　look for a ～　找对象
　faithful〔lifelong〕 ～　忠实〔终身〕的伴侣
　running ～　同组的马，〈美〉竞选伙伴，亲密的伙伴
　the first〔second, third〕 ～　大〔二，三〕副
　the fit ～s　适合的配偶
　the ～ of〔to〕 sth　与某物相配对的东西

　Her mates are waiting for her by the gate.　她的同事在门口等她。
　He is a mate of mine.　他是我的一个伙伴。
　The male hunts for food while his mate guards the nest.　雌性动物守护巢穴时，雄性动物猎食。
　She has been a faithful mate to him.　她一直是他忠实的配偶。
　The mate is one rank below the captain.　大副是低于船长的一个头衔。
　"What time is it, mate?"　“老兄，几点了?”

　vt. & vi.交配 (of birds or animals) to unite for the purpose of having sexual intercourse, producing young

　～ a donkey　使驴交配
　～ well　啮合紧密
　～ with　与…交配

　Birds mate in the spring.　鸟在春天交配。
　The zoo camels have not mated this year.　动物园里的骆驼今年还没有交配。
　It is often difficult to get animals to mate in captivity.　常常很难使被关的动物交配。
　I don't want to mate such a person.　我并不想与这样的人为友。
　They mate the Zoo's pandas.　他们使动物园的熊猫交配繁殖。

 ♣ mate with　(v.+prep.)
　（使）；与…交配　(especially of animals) to (cause to) be joined in sexual union
　They don't mate with each other.　它们彼此不交配。
　Dogs do not mate with cats.　狗和猫不交配。
　The queen bee is likely to mate with two or three drones.　后蜂可能会与两三只雄蜂交配。
　They mated a horse with a donkey.　他们使一匹马和一头驴交配。
　Farmers keep trying to produce better cattle by mating their strongest bulls with their healthiest cows.　农民们一直在想让最壮的公牛和最健康的母牛交配以生产更好的牛。

　［同义词］ n. associate, fellow, partner
　［词源］中古英语mate（同伴）