Matter
['mætə] or ['mætɚ]
Definition
(noun.) that which has mass and occupies space; 'physicists study both the nature of matter and the forces which govern it'.
(noun.) (used with negation) having consequence; 'they were friends and it was no matter who won the games'.
(noun.) a vaguely specified concern; 'several matters to attend to'; 'it is none of your affair'; 'things are going well'.
(noun.) a problem; 'is anything the matter?'.
(noun.) written works (especially in books or magazines); 'he always took some reading matter with him on the plane'.
Edited by Adela--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) That of which anything is composed; constituent substance; material; the material or substantial part of anything; the constituent elements of conception; that into which a notion may be analyzed; the essence; the pith; the embodiment.
(n.) That of which the sensible universe and all existent bodies are composed; anything which has extension, occupies space, or is perceptible by the senses; body; substance.
(n.) That with regard to, or about which, anything takes place or is done; the thing aimed at, treated of, or treated; subject of action, discussion, consideration, feeling, complaint, legal action, or the like; theme.
(n.) That which one has to treat, or with which one has to do; concern; affair; business.
(n.) Affair worthy of account; thing of consequence; importance; significance; moment; -- chiefly in the phrases what matter ? no matter, and the like.
(n.) Inducing cause or occasion, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing; difficulty; trouble.
(n.) Amount; quantity; portion; space; -- often indefinite.
(n.) Substance excreted from living animal bodies; that which is thrown out or discharged in a tumor, boil, or abscess; pus; purulent substance.
(n.) That which is permanent, or is supposed to be given, and in or upon which changes are effected by psychological or physical processes and relations; -- opposed to form.
(n.) Written manuscript, or anything to be set in type; copy; also, type set up and ready to be used, or which has been used, in printing.
(v. i.) To be of importance; to import; to signify.
(v. i.) To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate.
(v. t.) To regard as important; to take account of; to care for.
Edited by Edward
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Substance, body.[2]. Stuff, material, raw material.[3]. Topic, subject, question, subject-matter, matter in hand.[4]. Affair, business, concern, thing, event, course of things.[5]. Trouble, cause of distress.[6]. Importance, consequence, import, moment.[7]. Pus, purulence, purulent matter.
v. n. Signify, import, be of importance, be of consequence.
Inputed by Anna
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Substance, stuff, subject
Edited by Blair
Definition
n. that which occupies space and with which we become acquainted by our bodily senses: that out of which anything is made: that which receiving a form becomes a substance: the subject or thing treated of: anything engaging the attention: that with which one has to do: cause of a thing: thing of consequence: something requiring remedy or explanation: any special allegation in law: importance: a measure &c. of indefinite amount: (print.) material for work type set up: mere dead substance that which is thrown off by a living body esp. pus or the fluid in boils tumours and festering sores.—v.i. to be of importance: to signify: to form or discharge matter in a sore:—pr.p. matt′ering; pa.p. matt′ered.—adjs. Matt′erful full of matter pithy; Matt′erless; Matt′er-of-fact adhering to the matter of fact: not fanciful: dry; Matt′ery significant: purulent.—Matter of course occurring in natural time and order as a thing to be expected; Matter of fact really happening and not fanciful or supposed: not wandering beyond realities.
Typed by Barack
Examples
- He thought no more of the matter until he heard in the evening of the tragedy that had occurred. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- I am also to take it as a matter of fact that the proposal to withdraw from the engagement came, in the first instance, from YOU? Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Animal and vegetable matter buried in the depth of the earth sometimes undergoes natural distillation, and as a result gas is formed. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- It made her blood run sharp, to be thwarted in even so trifling a matter. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- A departure was early made in the matter of strengthening the ribs of oak to better meet the strains from the rough seas. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- It may be questioned whether some of the present pedagogical interest in the matter of values of studies is not either excessive or else too narrow. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- And he had hardly looked up, to see what the matter was, when he was stopped by having a pair of arms thrown tight round his neck. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Indisputably, Mr. Home owned manly self-control, however he might secretly feel on some matters. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- I would suggest that in the meantime, we remain perfectly quiet, and keep these matters secret even from Oliver himself. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- A harp, and other matters of a very uncanonical appearance, were also visible when this dark recess was opened. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Whether of questionable childishness or not in any other matters, Mr. Skimpole had a child's enjoyment of change and bright weather. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Biddy, said I, I think you might have written to me about these sad matters. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- But there were matters of interest about us. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- She shall not go out as long as I remain to watch over her; And as for my health, what matters it? William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- If he had kept true to that clasp, death would not have mattered. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- She accepted it without remark, nothing mattered to her. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- It mattered little, as I thought. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- And what's so funny, she used to be all for the children--nothing mattered, nothing whatever mattered but the children. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Yet of course, she cared a great deal, outwardly--and outwardly was all that mattered, for inwardly was a bad joke. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- What mattered was the great social productive machine. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- When these things of the ancient régime had vanished, it seemed as if they had never mattered. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It is not a question of gaining a social advantage by a s mattering of foreign languages. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Typist: Zamenhof