mat·ter (m t  r)n.1. a. Something that occupies space and can be perceived by one or more senses; a physical body, a physical substance, or the universe as a whole. b. Physics Something that has mass and exists as a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma. 2. A specific type of substance: inorganic matter. 3. Discharge or waste, such as pus or feces, from a living organism. 4. Philosophy In Aristotelian and Scholastic use, that which is in itself undifferentiated and formless and which, as the subject of change and development, receives form and becomes substance. 5. The substance of thought or expression as opposed to the manner in which it is stated or conveyed. 6. A subject of concern, feeling, or action: matters of foreign policy; a personal matter. See Synonyms at subject. 7. Trouble or difficulty: What's the matter with your car? 8. An approximated quantity, amount, or extent: The construction will last a matter of years. 9. Something printed or otherwise set down in writing: reading matter. 10. Something sent by mail. 11. Printing a. Composed type. b. Material to be set in type. intr.v. mat·tered, mat·ter·ing, mat·ters To be of importance: "Love is most nearly itself/When here and now cease to matter" T.S. Eliot. See Synonyms at count1. Idioms: as a matter of fact In fact; actually. for that matter So far as that is concerned; as for that. no matter Regardless of: "Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,/No matter where it's going" Edna St. Vincent Millay.
[Middle English, from Old French matere, from Latin m teria, wood, timber, matter, from mter, mother (because the woody part was seen as the source of growth); see mter- in Indo-European roots.] |
matter Noun 1. the substance of which something, esp. a physical object, is made; material 2. substance that occupies space and has mass, as distinguished from substance that is mental or spiritual 3. substance of a specified type: vegetable matter 4. an event, situation, or subject: a matter of taste, the break-in is a matter for the police 5. a quantity or amount: a matter of a few pounds 6. the content of written or verbal material as distinct from its style or form 7. written material in general: advertising matter 8. a secretion or discharge, such as pus 9. for that matter as regards that 10. no matter regardless of; irrespective of: you have to leave, no matter what she thinks 11. the matter wrong; the trouble: there's nothing the matter Verb to be of importance interj no matter it is unimportant [Latin materia cause, substance]
matter (mtr) Something that has mass. Most of the matter in the universe is composed of atoms which are themselves composed of subatomic particles. See also energystate of matter |
Mattervariant crystalline structure in a chemical compound. — allomorphic, adj. the quality of certain substances to exist in more than one form, with different properties in each form. — allotropic, allotropical, adj. Philosophy. the doctrine that all matter has life. — hylozoist, n. — hylozoistic, adj. 1. the philosophical theory that regards matter and its phenomena as the only reality and explains all occurrences, including the mental, as due to material agencies.
2. attention to or emphasis on material objects, needs, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of intellectual and spiritual values. — materialist, n. — materialistic, adj. Metaphysics. any of various theories holding that there is only one basic substance or principle that is the ground of reality. — monist, n. — monistic, monistical, adj. Chemistry and Geology. the study of the flow and deformation of colloids, especially pastes. — rheologist, n. — rheologic, rheological, adj. Obsolete, the branch of physics that studies the properties of matter. Also called somatics.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. | matter - a vaguely specified concern; "several matters to attend to"; "it is none of your affair"; "things are going well"concern - something that interests you because it is important or affects you; "the safety of the ship is the captain's concern" least - something that is of no importance; "it is the least I can do"; "that is the least of my concerns" | | 2. |  matter - some situation or event that is thought about; "he kept drifting off the topic"; "he had been thinking about the subject for several years"; "it is a matter for the police"area - a subject of study; "it was his area of specialization"; "areas of interest include..." blind spot - a subject about which you are ignorant or prejudiced and fail to exercise good judgment; "golf is one of his blind spots and he's proud of it" remit - the topic that a person, committee, or piece of research is expected to deal with or has authority to deal with; "they set up a group with a remit to suggest ways for strengthening family life" | | 3. | matter - that which has mass and occupies space; "physicists study both the nature of matter and the forces which govern it"substance - the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists; "DNA is the substance of our genes" substance - a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties; "shigella is one of the most toxic substances known to man" ylem - (cosmology) the original matter that (according to the big bang theory) existed before the formation of the chemical elements dark matter - (cosmology) a hypothetical form of matter that is believed to make up 90 percent of the universe; it is invisible (does not absorb or emit light) and does not collide with atomic particles but exerts gravitational force antimatter - matter consisting of elementary particles that are the antiparticles of those making up normal substances glop - any gummy shapeless matter; usually unpleasant fluid - continuous amorphous matter that tends to flow and to conform to the outline of its container: a liquid or a gas system - (physical chemistry) a sample of matter in which substances in different phases are in equilibrium; "in a static system oil cannot be replaced by water on a surface"; "a system generating hydrogen peroxide" residue - matter that remains after something has been removed solid - matter that is solid at room temperature and pressure solute - the dissolved matter in a solution; the component of a solution that changes its state emanation - something that is emitted or radiated (as a gas or an odor or a light, etc.) vegetable matter - matter produced by plants or growing in the manner of a plant | | 4. | matter - a problem; "is anything the matter?"trouble, problem - a source of difficulty; "one trouble after another delayed the job"; "what's the problem?" | | 5. | matter - (used with negation) having consequence; "they were friends and it was no matter who won the games"consequence, moment, import - having important effects or influence; "decisions of great consequence are made by the president himself"; "virtue is of more moment than security"; "that result is of no consequence" | | 6. | matter - written works (especially in books or magazines); "he always took some reading matter with him on the plane"piece of writing, written material, writing - the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing" dictation - matter that has been dictated and transcribed; a dictated passage; "he signed and mailed his dictation without bothering to read it" text, textual matter - the words of something written; "there were more than a thousand words of text"; "they handed out the printed text of the mayor's speech"; "he wants to reconstruct the original text" text - the main body of a written work (as distinct from illustrations or footnotes etc.); "pictures made the text easier to understand" typescript - typewritten matter especially a typewritten copy of a manuscript soft copy - (computer science) matter that is in a form that a computer can store or display it on a computer screen; "he sent them soft copy of the report" hard copy - (computer science) matter that is held in a computer and is typed or printed on paper; "he ran off a hard copy of the report" recitation - written matter that is recited from memory | | Verb | 1. |  matter - have weight; have import, carry weight; "It does not matter much"be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" press, weigh - to be oppressive or burdensome; "weigh heavily on the mind", "Something pressed on his mind" |
matter noun 1. situation, thing, issue, concern, business, question, event, subject, affair, incident, proceeding, episode, topic, transaction, occurrence noun 3. content, sense, subject, argument, text, substance, burden, thesis, purport, gist, pith verb 6. be important, make a difference, count, be relevant, make any difference, mean anything, have influence, carry weight, cut any ice ( informal) be of consequence, be of account  Translations matter [ˈmætəʳ] n → cuestión f; asunto; it doesn't matter → no importa; printed matter → impresos mpl;
 matter [ˈmætəʳ] n → question f; matters npl (= affairs, situation) → la situation; no matter what → quoi qu'il arrive; as a matter of fact → en fait; printed matter → imprimés mpl;
 matter [ˈmætəʳ] n ( event, situation) → Sache f, Angelegenheit f; ( substance, material) → Stoff m; matters npl (affairs) → Angelegenheiten pl, Dinge pl; no matter what → egal was (passiert); it's a matter of habit → es ist eine Gewohnheitssache; vegetable matter → pflanzliche Stoffe pl; printed matter → Drucksachen pl;
 matter [ˈmætəʳ] n → questione f; it doesn't matter → non importa (= I don't mind); non fa niente; what's the matter? → che cosa c'è?; as a matter of fact → in verità; printed matter → stampe fpl;
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