Library / English Dictionary

MATTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: matter   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

That which has mass and occupies space

Example:

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

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

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

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(used with negation) having consequence

Example:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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

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

Derivation:

matter (have weight; have import, carry weight)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A vaguely specified concern

Example:

things are going well

Synonyms:

affair; matter; thing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

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 4

Meaning:

A problem

Example:

is anything the matter?

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

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

problem; trouble (a source of difficulty)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Some situation or event that is thought about

Example:

it is a matter for the police

Synonyms:

issue; matter; subject; topic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

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 6

Meaning:

Written works (especially in books or magazines)

Example:

he always took some reading matter with him on the plane

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have weight; have import, carry weight

Example:

It does not matter much

Synonyms:

count; matter; weigh

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“Plum tuckered out, that’s what’s the matter. They need a rest.”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

You can send for us, you know, at a moment's notice, if anything is the matter; but I dare say there will be nothing to alarm you.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

In the small cabin the widest limit was only a matter of several steps, and the next moment she was alongside of him.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A matter of interest or importance.

(Concern, NCI Thesaurus)

A nanoscale cavity or channel confined within a membrane or solid matter.

(Nanopore, NCI Thesaurus)

A metric unit of volumetric flow rate defined as the rate at which one milliliter of matter crosses a given surface during the period of time equal to one second.

(Milliliter per Second, NCI Thesaurus)

This designates energy deposition by the radiation without regard to the type of matter or any biological considerations.

(Absorbed Radiation Dose, NCI Thesaurus)

The areas of the brain composed of neurons and (in contrast to the white matter) unmyelinated nerve fibers.

(Brain Gray Matter, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by spongy degeneration of the white matter of the brain.

(Canavan Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

As the matter is to be a "nine days' wonder," they are evidently determined that there shall be no cause of after complaint.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)