n. 1 material, substance, stuff, sum and substance Some yellowish matter oozed out of the wound It is a question of mind over matter. 2 situation, issue, question, affair, business, subject, topic, condition, thing, fact, concern; occurrence, episode, incident, event, occasion, proceeding It was a matter of life and death His loss of face is not a matter that need involve you. 3 problem, difficulty, trouble, complication, worry, upset, dilemma, quandary, enigma, puzzle What is the matter? 4 content, essentials, pith, context, theme, argument, purport, implication; signification, meaning, meaningfulness, import, importance, significance, moment, weight, consequence Pay attention to the matter in his speech, not his manner It is of little matter to me whether you go or not. 5 amount, sum, quantity, question It was only a matter of a few pennies' difference
v. 6 be important or of importance, count, be of consequence, make a difference, mean something What you think matters a great deal