Matter Definition

mătər

mattered, matters

noun

matters

That which occupies space and has mass; physical substance.

American Heritage

What a thing is made of; constituent substance or material.

Webster's New World

What all (material) things are made of; whatever occupies space and is perceptible to the senses in some way: in modern physics, matter and energy are regarded as equivalents, mutually convertible according to Einstein's formula, E = mc² (i.e., energy equals mass multiplied by the square of the velocity of light); in dualistic thinking, matter is regarded as the opposite of mind, spirit, etc.

Webster's New World

Any specified sort of substance.

Coloring matter.

Webster's New World

Material of thought or expression; what is spoken or written, regarded as distinct from how it is spoken or written; content, as distinguished from manner, style, or form.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

verb

mattered, matters

To be of importance or consequence; have significance.

The things that matter to one.

Webster's New World

To form and discharge pus; suppurate.

Webster's New World

(intransitive) To be important.

The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich.

Sorry for pouring ketchup on your clean white shirt! - Oh, don't worry, it does not matter.

Wiktionary

To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
fester
come-to-a-head
suppurate
involve
be of consequence
express
denote
imply
be important
be substantive
signify
import
be worthy of notice
weigh
carry weight

idiom

as a matter of fact

In fact; actually.

American Heritage

for that matter

So far as that is concerned; as for that.

American Heritage

no matter

Regardless of:

American Heritage

as a matter of fact

Webster's New World

for that matter

in regard to that; as far as that is concerned

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Matter

Noun

Singular:

matter

Plural:

matters

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Matter

Origin of Matter

From Middle English mater, matere, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin materia (“matter, stuff, material"), derivative of Latin mater (“mother"). Displaced native Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter") (from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material")), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business").

From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old French matere from Latin māteria wood, timber, matter from māter mother (because the woody part was seen as the source of growth) māter- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition