MATTER (matter)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: matter   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does matter mean? 

• MATTER (noun)
  The noun MATTER has 6 senses:

1. a vaguely specified concern

2. some situation or event that is thought about

3. that which has mass and occupies space

4. a problem

5. (used with negation) having consequence

6. written works (especially in books or magazines)

  Familiarity information: MATTER used as a noun is common.

• MATTER (verb)
  The verb MATTER has 1 sense:

1. have weight; have import, carry weight

  Familiarity information: MATTER used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MATTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A vaguely specified concern

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

affair; matter; thing

Context example:

things are going well

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

concern (something that interests you because it is important or affects you)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

least (something that is of no importance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Some situation or event that is thought about

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

issue; matter; subject; topic

Context example:

it is a matter for the police

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

cognitive content; content; mental object (the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

area (a subject of study)

blind spot (a subject about which you are ignorant or prejudiced and fail to exercise good judgment)

remit (the topic that a person, committee, or piece of research is expected to deal with or has authority to deal with)

res adjudicata; res judicata (a matter already settled in court; cannot be raised again)

Derivation:

matter (have weight; have import, carry weight)

Sense 3

Meaning:

That which has mass and occupies space

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

Context example:

physicists study both the nature of matter and the forces which govern it

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

physical entity (an entity that has physical existence)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

substance (a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties)

deposit; sediment (matter that has been deposited by some natural process)

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)

goo; gook; goop; guck; gunk; muck; ooze; slime; sludge (any thick, viscous matter)

system ((physical chemistry) a sample of matter in which substances in different phases are in equilibrium)

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)

substance (the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A problem

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

is anything the matter?

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

problem; trouble (a source of difficulty)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(used with negation) having consequence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

they were friends and it was no matter who won the games

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

consequence; import; moment (having important effects or influence)

Derivation:

matter (have weight; have import, carry weight)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Written works (especially in books or magazines)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he always took some reading matter with him on the plane

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

piece of writing; writing; written material (the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

dictation (matter that has been dictated and transcribed; a dictated passage)

text; textual matter (the words of something written)

text (the main body of a written work (as distinct from illustrations or footnotes etc.))

typescript (typewritten matter especially a typewritten copy of a manuscript)

front matter; prelims (written matter preceding the main text of a book)

back matter; end matter (written matter following the main text of a book)

soft copy ((computer science) matter that is in a form that a computer can store or display it on a computer screen)

hard copy ((computer science) matter that is held in a computer and is typed or printed on paper)

addendum; postscript; supplement (textual matter that is added onto a publication; usually at the end)

recitation (written matter that is recited from memory)

• MATTER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they matter    ... he / she / it matters   
Past simple: mattered   
Past participle: mattered   
-ing form: mattering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have weight; have import, carry weight

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

count; matter; weigh

Context example:

It does not matter much

Hypernyms (to "matter" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "matter"):

press; weigh (to be oppressive or burdensome)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
It ----s that CLAUSE

Also:

matter to (be of importance or consequence)

Derivation:

matter ((used with negation) having consequence)

matter (some situation or event that is thought about)

 Context examples 

Then I told him the whole circumstance, how my clothes had been left to dry in the galley, and how, later, I was nearly beaten by the cook when I mentioned the matter.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

At the same time, it seemed to me that you were a little severe upon Weissmann in this matter.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And now the matter had begun to straighten itself out wonderfully.

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

This idea suggests that dark matter particles are fast moving, zipping along too quickly to merge and form smaller concentrations.

(Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Find Dark Matter in Small Clumps, NASA)

Mr. Rochester, I may as well mention another matter of business to you while I have the opportunity.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But, no matter how hard we try to stifle a yawn, it might change how we yawn but it won't alter our propensity to yawn.

(Why Is Yawning so Contagious?, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Organic compounds and particular matter released when burning forests to clear land for agriculture can kill human lung cells or lead to irreversible damage to DNA, according to a new study.

(Lung damage from agricultural fires probed, SciDev.Net)

However, he went with her into the cow-house, to try and see what was the matter.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

It didn't matter so much when you were a little girl, but now you are so tall, and turn up your hair, you should remember that you are a young lady.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It is no easy matter, and requires a strong and practised arm.

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