Buddy
Buddy noun - A person who has a strong liking for and trust in another.
Usage example: my old college buddy is the one person I can always turn to
Mate
Mate noun - A person frequently seen in the company of another.
Usage example: that lout and his mates are known troublemakers in the neighborhood
Buddy is a synonym for mate in friend topic. You can use "Buddy" instead a noun "Mate", if it concerns topics such as love, partner, companion, pal. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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It's not the same thing as friendship, you might not even be friends with your mates - your mate could be your best buddy from Primary School who you've lost touch with, and a friend might never become a mate, because friends come and go, but mates stick up for each other no matter what.
Source: True Companions - His Oblivious to Love trait is one of the most noteworthy: compare his early release of Butterfree because he knew full well it wanted to mate with a female and make babies to a more recent encounter with a Cottonee with the same problem, whom Ash thinks just wants to "get a best buddy".
Source: Flanderization / Anime and Manga - In Unova, he doesn't understand that two Cottonees wish to mate, thinking that the male one just "wants a best buddy".
Source: Chaste Hero
Cite this Source
Mate and Buddy. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/buddy/mate
Buddy & Mate. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/buddy/mate>.
Mate or Buddy. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/buddy/mate.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "buddy" and "mate" have occurred on timeline