Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

matter

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing.These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are morefrequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun American English pronunciation: matter /ˈmætər/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularmatter
pluralmatters
 
  1. 1
    [countable] something that you are discussing, considering, or dealing with
    a matter for something:

    Teachers feel this is a matter for discussion with parents.

    an extremely important matter

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  matterThesaurus entry for this meaning of matter
  2. 2

    the matter

     used for talking about problems or bad situations
    what’s the matter:

    You look sad. What’s the matter?

    What’s the matter with the car?

    I think there’s something the matter with the printer.

    there’s nothing the matter (=there is no problem):

    There’s nothing the matter with you – you’re just tired.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  matterThesaurus entry for this meaning of matter
  3. 3

    matters

     [plural] a situation that someone is involved in

    Her angry attitude didn’t improve matters.

    to make matters worse:

    The package arrived late and, to make matters worse, it wasn’t what we had ordered.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  matterThesaurus entry for this meaning of matter
  5. 5
    [singular] used for emphasizing how short a period of time is
    matter of:

    The school could close in a matter of a few weeks.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  matterThesaurus entry for this meaning of matter

phrases

This is the American English definition of matter. View British English definition of matter.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

showmance

a romantic relationship between two members of the cast of a play, film or television series

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

pumice

a very light grey stone from a volcano

Open Dictionary

human-readable

able to be read and understood by people

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog