MATTER


Meaning of MATTER in English

I.

noun

1 subject/situation that must be dealt with

ADJECTIVE

▪ important , pressing , serious , urgent , weighty

He left, saying he had pressing ~s to attend to.

The question of his innocence is a weighty ~ for this court.

▪ complex , complicated , controversial , delicate , difficult , sensitive

I wasn't sure how to approach the delicate ~ of pay.

▪ simple , trifling ( esp. BrE ), trivial

It is then a simple ~ to print off the data you have collected.

▪ no easy , no simple

It is no simple ~ starting a new business.

▪ practical

They've agreed in theory, but now we need to discuss practical ~s.

▪ family , personal , private

▪ subject

His articles deal with a wide range of subject ~.

▪ economic , environmental , financial , legal , political , procedural , religious , spiritual , technical

▪ routine

The rest of the meeting was taken up by routine ~s.

▪ related

They talk mostly about work and related ~s.

▪ different , other

I don't mind lizards, but snakes are a different ~.

VERB + MATTER

▪ bring up , broach , raise

I thought I'd better broach the ~ with my boss.

The ~ will be raised at our next meeting.

▪ address , debate , discuss , go into , take up

I don't really want to go into this ~ now.

▪ press , pursue , take further

After legal advice I chose to take the ~ further.

▪ drop

His lawyer advised him to drop the ~.

▪ consider , examine , investigate , look at , look into , tackle

▪ clarify , clear up , decide , resolve , settle

It's a relief to have the ~ settled.

▪ approach , deal with , handle , treat

Police are treating the ~ as a murder investigation.

MATTER + VERB

▪ be related to , pertain to ( formal ), relate to

She was a great source of knowledge on ~s relating to nutrition.

PREPOSITION

▪ in a/the ~

I don't have much experience in these ~s.

Do I have any choice in the ~?

▪ on a/the ~

Speak to your manager if you need help on this ~.

▪ ~ for

The incident is definitely a ~ for the police.

▪ ~ of

It's a ~ of concern to all of us.

We discussed the ~ of whether or not to hire a bus.

Getting the effect you want is a ~ of trial and error.

PHRASES

▪ the crux of the ~ , the heart of the ~ (= the most important part of a subject/situation)

▪ let the ~ drop , let the ~ go , let the ~ rest

She refused to let the ~ rest.

▪ the ~ in hand

Let's concentrate on the ~ in hand for now, and leave other issues till later.

▪ be no laughing ~

The safety of his family was no laughing ~.

2 matters situation you are in

VERB + MATTERS

▪ complicate , confuse , make worse , not help

It didn't help ~s that I had a terrible cold.

To make ~s worse, my friend then lost her keys.

▪ simplify

Let me simplify ~s by giving you my answer now.

▪ arrange

She always arranges ~s to suit herself.

3 substance

ADJECTIVE

▪ solid

▪ organic , vegetable

composed entirely of organic ~

▪ inanimate , inorganic

▪ decaying

▪ dark ( science )

▪ printed , reading

II.

verb

ADVERB

▪ a great deal , a lot , greatly , really

These things ~ a lot to young children.

▪ hardly , little ( formal ), not much , scarcely ( esp. BrE )

She could find a job. It hardly ~ed what.

▪ no longer , not any more

VERB + MATTER

▪ not seem to

Somehow it didn't seem to ~ much any more.

PREPOSITION

▪ about

It doesn't ~ about the mess.

▪ to

It didn't ~ to her that he was blind.

PHRASES

▪ not ~ a/one bit , not ~ a/one jot ( BrE ), not ~ a/one whit ( esp. AmE )

It doesn't ~ one whit what their ethnic background is.

Oxford Collocations English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь словосочетаний .