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matter

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matter¹

  • /ˈmætə/ UK
  • /ˈmatə/ British, Northern England, Southern
  • /ˈmatəɾ/ Scotland
  • /ˈmætɚ/ US
  • [ˈmæɾɚ] US
  • /ˈmætə/ Australia
  • [ˈmæɾə] Australia
  • /ˈmɛtə/ New Zealand
  • [ˈmɛɾə] New Zealand

Sounds like madder (some US pronunciations) · Rhymes with -ætə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin māteria (“wood”), from māter (“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”).

noun matters

  1. countable, uncountable Anything with mass and volume.
  2. countable, uncountable Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles.

    Opposite: antimatter

  3. countable, uncountable A kind of substance. vegetable matter
  4. countable, uncountable Printed material, especially in books or magazines. He always took some reading matter with him on the plane.
  5. countable, uncountable Aristotelian: undeveloped potentiality subject to change and development; formlessness. Matter receives form, and becomes substance.
  6. countable, uncountable 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.

    Similar: res

  7. countable, uncountable An approximate amount or extent. I stayed for a matter of months.
  8. countable 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.
  9. countable, obsolete, uncountable Essence; pith; embodiment. He is the matter of virtue.
  10. countable, obsolete, uncountable (The) inducing cause or reason, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing. And this is the matter why interpreters upon that passage in Hosea will not consent it to be a true story, that the prophet took a harlot to wife.
  11. countable, dated, uncountable Pus.
  12. uncountable Importance. 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?

Similar: material, stuff, substance, hyle

verb matters · mattering · mattered

  1. intransitive, stative To be important. The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich.

    Similar: signify

  2. Caribbean, England, regional, transitive, in negative constructions To care about, to mind; to find important. Besides, if it had been out of doors I had not mattered it so much; but with my own servant, in my own house, under my own roof […]
  3. archaic, intransitive To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate. Each slight sore mattereth.

Matter²

proper noun Matters

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: weigh, issue, count, material, substance, topic, thing, subject, affair, antimatter, focus, ground, area, direction, side, dimension

noun

Similar: material, stuff, substance, hyle

Translations

Every language

noun basic structural component of the universe

Españolmateria
한국어물질 muljil
日本語物質 busshitsu
中文物質 /物质 wùzhì, wùzhí
हिन्दीपदार्थ padārth, माद्दा māddā
Portuguêsmatéria
Françaismatière
DeutschMaterie
Italianomateria
Ελληνικάύλη ýli
Românămaterie
Русскиймате́рия matérija
Tiếng Việtvật chất
العربيةمَادَّة mādda
עבריתחומר \ חֹמֶר khómer

noun kind of substance

Españolmateria
한국어물질 muljil
日本語物質 busshitsu
中文物質 /物质 wùzhì, wùzhí
हिन्दीपदार्थ padārth
Portuguêsmatéria
Françaismatière
DeutschMasse, Substanz, Stoff
Italianomateria
Românămaterie
Русскийвещество́ veščestvó, материа́л materiál
Tiếng Việtvật chất
العربيةمَادَّة mādda
עבריתחומר \ חֹמֶר khómer

noun situation, condition, subject or affair

Españolasunto, cuestión, tema, materia, punto, particular
한국어일 il
日本語事 koto
中文事情 shìqing, 事 shì
हिन्दीबात bāt, विषय viṣay
Portuguêsquestão, assunto
Françaisaffaire, question
DeutschAngelegenheit
Italianoargomento, questione, faccenda
Românăchestiune, subiect, fond, material
Русскийде́ло délo
Tiếng Việtviệc
العربيةأَمْر ʔamr

noun reason for concern

Españolasunto, cuestión
한국어일 il, 문제 munje
日本語こと koto, 問題 mondai, 事件 jiken
中文事情 shìqing, 事 shì, 事件 shìjiàn, 問題 /问题 wèntí
हिन्दीकारण kāraṇ
Portuguêsquestão
DeutschAngelegenheit
Italianoproblema
Românăproblemă, chestiune
Русскийде́ло délo, вопро́с voprós
العربيةقَضِيَّة qaḍiyya
עבריתנוֹשֵׂא nosé

noun cause

हिन्दीकारण kāraṇ
Portuguêsmotivo
Françaiscause, matière
DeutschAnlass
Italianocausa
Românăcauză
Русскийпо́вод póvod
العربيةأَمْر ʔamr
עבריתעילה ilá

noun non-antimatter matter

Españolmateria
한국어물질 muljil
日本語物質 busshitsu
中文物質 /物质 wùzhì, wùzhí
हिन्दीपदार्थ padārth
Portuguêsmatéria
Françaismatière
DeutschMaterie
Italianomateria
Românămaterie
Русскийвещество́ veščestvó, мате́рия matérija
Tiếng Việtvật chất
العربيةمَادَّة mādda, جِسْم jism
עבריתחומר \ חֹמֶר khómer

verb to be important

Españolimportar
한국어중요하다 jung'yohada
日本語重要である jūyō de aru
中文有關係 /有关系 yǒuguānxi, 要緊 /要紧 yàojǐn
हिन्दीमहत्त्वपूर्ण mahattvapūrṇ
Portuguêsimportar
Françaisimporter, compter
Deutschwichtig sein, etwas ausmachen, zählen
Italianoimportare, contare
Românăconta
Русскийиме́ть значе́ние imétʹ značénije, быть ва́жным bytʹ vážnym
العربيةهَمَّ hamma

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"matter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/matter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

matter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/matter

Chicago

"matter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/matter.

BibTeX
@misc{matter_2026,
  title = {matter},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/matter},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}