1 a : to be suited to (someone or something) : to go well with (someone or something) [+ obj] ▪ The curtains match the carpet perfectly. = The curtains and the carpet match each other perfectly. ▪ This color matches your skin tone. ▪ She was wearing a beautiful skirt, but her sweater didn't match it. ▪ The upbeat music matched her mood. [no obj] ▪ The curtains and carpet don't match. [=go together] ▪ Her skirt and sweater matched perfectly. ▪ Do these colors match? ▪ (chiefly US) a wine that matches (up) well with rich foods ▪ He's a large man with hands to match. [=a large man with large hands] b : to have the same appearance, color, etc. [no obj] ▪ The pillows on the couch all match. ▪ Your socks don't match. [+ obj] ▪ Your socks don't match each other.
2 [+ obj] : to make or see a connection or relationship between (two people or things) ▪ The children matched (up) the names of the animals to the correct pictures. —often + with ▪ My mom is always trying to match me up with her friends' daughters. —see also mix and match at ¹mix
3 : to be in agreement with (something) [+ obj] ▪ The description matches [=fits] him closely. ▪ His story doesn't match the facts. [no obj] ▪ Their stories didn't match (up). [=their stories didn't agree with each other] ▪ His story doesn't match (up) with the facts.
4 a : to be the equal of (something or someone) : to be as good as (something or someone) [+ obj] ▪ Nothing will ever match the sheer excitement of that game. = Nothing will ever match that game in/for sheer excitement. ▪ The movie didn't match our expectations. [=the movie was not as good as we expected it to be] ▪ Nobody can match him at golf. [=no one is as good as he is at playing golf] ▪ The car has a record of reliability that's hard to match. ▪ His talents are matched only by his ego. ▪ The company's growth has been matched by the increase in its political influence. ▪ I've never seen anything to match this spectacle. ▪ The two runners were matching each other stride for stride. ▪ It was a close game between two evenly matched teams. [=two teams that are equally good] [no obj] ▪ The concert didn't match up to [=equal, meet] our expectations. b [+ obj] : to provide, produce, or do something that is equal to (something else) ▪ We were unable to match their offer. ▪ The company will match employee contributions to the insurance plan. ▪ An anonymous donor has promised to match the first $10,000 donated to the charity. ▪ He could never hope to match his brother's success.
5 [+ obj] : to place (someone or something) in competition against another —often + against ▪ They were matched against each other in the first round of the play-offs. —often + with ▪ The game will match last year's champions with their leading rivals.
6 [+ obj] : to compare (something) with something else —usually + against ▪ The fingerprints were matched against those stored in the computer.