matter

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Material; substance.
2. (countable, uncountable) Material; substance.
3. (countable, uncountable) Material; substance.
4. (countable, uncountable) Material; substance.
5. (countable, uncountable) Material; substance.
6. (countable, uncountable) An affair, condition, or subject, especially one of concern or (especially when preceded by the) one that is problematic.
7. (countable, uncountable) An approximate amount or extent.
8. (countable) Legal services provided by a lawyer or firm to their client in relation to a particular issue.
9. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Essence; pith; embodiment.
10. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) (The) inducing cause or reason, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing.
11. (countable, dated, uncountable) Pus.
12. (uncountable) Importance.

Verb

1. (intransitive, stative) To be important.
2. (Caribbean, England, regional, transitive) To care about, to mind; to find important.
3. (archaic, intransitive) To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate.

Opposite of

antimatter

Synonyms

affair

business

thing

case

substance

material

issue

subject

pus

business deal

topic

concern

question

❓

problem

article

object

event

stuff

item

function

count

🔢

phenomenon

point

work

fact

reason

theme

word

things

suppurate

body

trouble

palaver

cause

weigh

job

important

fester

story

entity

signify

situation

circumstance

essence

subject matter

pith

news

📰

mass

copy

argument

Translations

matière

materia

Materie

materia

affaire

Stoff

Sache

Angelegenheit

matéria

materie

stof

chose

asunto

sujet

zaak

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmætə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: matere

Cognate with Classical Armenian: մայր

Cognate with Old English: andweorc

Cognate with Old English: intinga

In summary

From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin materia (“wood”), from mater (“mother”), in which case cognate with Old Armenian մայր (mayr, “cedar”) and մայրի (mayri, “forest”). Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and mother.
Displaced Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”), from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business”).

Sentences

No matter how much he offered , Scott would not accept the deal .

Nothing's the matter with me .