AS A MATTER OF FACT

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does as a matter of fact mean? 

• AS A MATTER OF FACT (adverb)
  The adverb AS A MATTER OF FACT has 1 sense:

1. in reality or actuality

  Familiarity information: AS A MATTER OF FACT used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AS A MATTER OF FACT (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

In reality or actuality

Synonyms:

as a matter of fact; in fact; in point of fact

Context example:

as a matter of fact, he is several inches taller than his father

 Context examples 

It was at a quarter to twelve, as a matter of fact.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I had regarded his presence as an encumbrance to the expedition, but, as a matter of fact, I am now well convinced that his power of endurance is as great as my own.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As a matter of fact, that screw was not used.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But, as a matter of fact, seven weeks elapsed.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This one covered, as a matter of fact, the T joint which gives off the pipe which supplies the kitchen underneath.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As a matter of fact, the drawn curtain disclosed nothing but three or four suits of clothes hanging from a line of pegs.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His remaining behind and his French name were really the only two points which could suggest suspicion; but, as a matter of fact, I did not begin work until he had gone, and his people are of Huguenot extraction, but as English in sympathy and tradition as you and I are.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As a matter of fact, burglars who have done a good stroke of business are, as a rule, only too glad to enjoy the proceeds in peace and quiet without embarking on another perilous undertaking.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As a matter of fact he had no such facilities—he had no comfortable family standing behind him and he was liable at the whim of an impersonal government to be blown anywhere about the world.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)