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matter

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Matter and måtter

English

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

Noun

matter (countable and uncountable, plural matters)

  1. (uncountable) Material; substance.
    2. (physics) Anything with mass and volume.
    3. (physics) Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles.
      Antonym: antimatter
    4. A kind of substance.
      vegetable matter
    5. Printed material, especially in books or magazines.
      He always took some reading matter with him on the plane.
    6. (philosophy) Aristotelian: undeveloped potentiality subject to change and development; formlessness. Matter receives form, and becomes substance.
  2. An affair, condition, or subject, especially one of concern or (especially when preceded by the) one that is problematic.
    Something is the matter with him.
    The diplomats met to discuss state matters.
    • 1597, Francis [Bacon], “Of the Colours of Good and Evill, a Fragment”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland […], published 1632, →OCLC:
      So in many armies, if the matter ſhould bee tried by duell betvvene tvvo Champions, the victory ſhould goe on the one ſide, & yet if it be tried by the groſſe, it vvould goe on the other ſide: for excellencies goe as it vvere by chance, but kinds goe by a more certaine Nature, as by Diſcipline in vvarre.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      Son of God, Saviour of men! Thy name / Shall be the copious matter of my song.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus xviii:22:
      Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; […] . Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.
    • 2012 July 12, Sam Adams, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”, in AV Club:
      The matter of whether the world needs a fourth Ice Age movie pales beside the question of why there were three before it, but Continental Drift feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that’s already been settled.
  3. An approximate amount or extent.
    I stayed for a matter of months.
  4. (countable, law) Legal services provided by a lawyer or firm to their client in relation to a particular issue.
    Please find attached an invoice for three outstanding matters.
  5. (obsolete) Essence; pith; embodiment.
  6. (obsolete) (The) inducing cause or reason, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing.
  7. (dated, medicine) Pus.
  8. (uncountable) Importance.
    • 1880, Bernard Nulty, The Patriot Chief: And Other Poems, page 211:
      What matter if we unrewarded must strive, / If Wall Street and gamblers around it may thrive? / What matter if we doubly pay for our food / To support the monopolist kings of the road?

Usage notes

  • As regards sense 2 ("an affair, condition, or subject, especially one of concern or one that is problematic"), the phrase the matter can in most cases be replaced by the adjective wrong. Thus, a phrase like "there is nothing the matter" can be reworded as "there is nothing wrong".

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

matter (third-person singular simple present matters, present participle mattering, simple past and past participle mattered)

  1. (intransitive, stative) To be important. [from 16th c.]
    The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich.
    Sorry for pouring ketchup on your clean white shirt! - Oh, don't worry, it does not matter.
    • 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
      As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, […]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. […] I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.
    • 2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:
      Despite further attempts by Agbonlahor and Young, however, they could not find the goal to reward their endeavour.
      It mattered little as Newcastle's challenge faded and Villa began to dominate the game in midfield, and it was only Barton's continued sense of injustice that offered the visitors any spark in a tame contest.
    • 2025 October 15, Philip Haigh, “Merseyrail leads in an unlevel playing field”, in RAIL, number 1046, page 51:
      Not all platforms are equal. Some are busier and thus more important than others. A rural station that doesn't comply matters less than a major London terminus.
  2. (transitive, in negative constructions, now England regional, Caribbean) To care about, to mind; to find important. [from 17th c.]
  3. (intransitive, medicine, archaic) To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

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French

Pronunciation

Verb

matter

  1. alternative spelling of mater

Conjugation

Conjugation of matter (see also Appendix:French verbs)
More information infinitive, simple ...

Anagrams

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German

Pronunciation

Adjective

matter

  1. comparative degree of matt
  2. inflection of matt:
    1. strong/mixed nominative masculine singular
    2. strong genitive/dative feminine singular
    3. strong genitive plural

Middle French

Alternative forms

Verb

matter

  1. to checkmate

Conjugation

  • Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of matter
More information infinitive, simple ...
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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

matter m pl or f pl

  1. indefinite plural of matte (Etymology 1)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

matter f pl

  1. indefinite plural of matte (Etymology 1)

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