/ ˈmætə(r); NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
SUBJECT / SITUATION
1.
[ C ] a subject or situation that you must consider or deal with
SYN affair :
It's a private matter.
They had important matters to discuss.
She may need your help with some business matters.
I always consulted him on matters of policy.
It's a matter for the police (= for them to deal with) .
That's a matter for you to take up with your boss.
Let's get on with the matter in hand (= what we need to deal with now) .
I wasn't prepared to let the matter drop (= stop discussing it) .
It was no easy matter getting him to change his mind.
It should have been a simple matter to check.
( ironic )
And then there's the little matter of the fifty pounds you owe me.
( formal )
It was a matter of some concern to most of those present (= something they were worried about) .
I did not feel that we had got to the heart of the matter (= the most important part) .
And that is the crux of the matter (= the most important thing about the situation) .
2.
matters [ pl. ] the present situation, or the situation that you are talking about
SYN things :
Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to improve matters.
I'd forgotten the keys, which didn't help matters .
Matters were made worse by a fire in the warehouse.
And then, to make matters worse , his parents turned up.
I decided to take matters into my own hands (= deal with the situation myself) .
Matters came to a head (= the situation became very difficult) with his resignation.
PROBLEM
3.
the matter [ sing. ] matter (with sb/sth) used (to ask) if sb is upset, unhappy, etc. or if there is a problem :
What's the matter? Is there something wrong?
Is anything the matter ?
Is something the matter with Bob? He seems very down.
There's something the matter with my eyes.
'We've bought a new TV.' 'What was the matter with the old one?'
What's the matter with you today (= why are you behaving like this) ?
A MATTER OF STH / OF DOING STH
4.
[ sing. ] a situation that involves sth or depends on sth
SYN question :
Learning to drive is all a matter of coordination.
Planning a project is just a matter of working out the right order to do things in.
That's not a problem. It's simply a matter of letting people know in time.
Some people prefer the older version to the new one. It's a matter of taste .
She resigned over a matter of principle .
The government must deal with this as a matter of urgency .
Just as a matter of interest (= because it is interesting, not because it is important) , how much did you pay for it?
'I think this is the best so far.' 'Well, that's a matter of opinion (= other people may think differently) .
SUBSTANCE
5.
[ U ] ( technical ) physical substance in general that everything in the world consists of; not mind or spirit :
to study the properties of matter
6.
[ U ] a substance or things of a particular sort :
Add plenty of organic matter to improve the soil.
elimination of waste matter from the body
She didn't approve of their choice of reading matter .
—see also subject matter
•
IDIOMS
- as a matter of fact
- be another / a different matter
- for that matter
- it's just / only a matter of time (before ... )
- (as) a matter of course
- a matter of hours, minutes, etc. | a matter of inches, metres, etc.
- a matter of life and death
- a matter of record
- no matter
- no matter who, what, where, etc.
—more at fact , laughing
■ verb
matter (to sb) (not used in the progressive tenses) to be important or have an important effect on sb/sth :
[ v ]
The children matter more to her than anything else in the world.
It doesn't matter to me what you do.
'What did you say?' 'Oh, it doesn't matter' (= it is not important enough to repeat) .'
'I'm afraid I forgot that book again.' 'It doesn't matter (= it is not important enough to worry about) .'
What does it matter if I spent $100 on it—it's my money!
As long as you're happy, that's all that matters .
After his death, nothing seemed to matter any more.
He's been in prison, you know— not that it matters (= that information does not affect my opinion of him) .
[ v wh- ]
Does it really matter who did it?
[ v that ]
It didn't matter that the weather was bad.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : via Old French from Latin materia timber, substance, also subject of discourse, from mater mother.