Matter Meaning
/ˈmætə/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounMaterial; substance.
nounMaterial; substance., Anything with mass and volume.
Sentence Examples
"What's the matter?" asked the little white rabbit.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
What's the matter? Is there something wrong?
CEFR Practice Quiz
Physical ____ has mass and takes up space in the entire universe.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It doesn't ____ what the weather is like we are determined to go for a hike in the forest.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"So in many armies, if the matter ſhould bee tried by duell betvvene tvvo Champions, the victory ſhould goe on the one ſide, & yet if it be tried by the groſſe, it vvould goe on the other ſide: for excellencies goe as it vvere by chance, but kinds goe by a more certaine Nature, as by Diſcipline in vvarre."
— 1597, Francis [Bacon], “Of the Colours of Good and Evill, a Fragment”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland […], published 1632, →OCLC:
"Son of God, Saviour of men! Thy name / Shall be the copious matter of my song."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus xviii:22:
"The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
"The matter of whether the world needs a fourth Ice Age movie pales beside the question of why there were three before it, but Continental Drift feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that’s already been settled."
— 2012 July 12, Sam Adams, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”, in AV Club:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Physical ____ has mass and takes up space in the entire universe.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It doesn't ____ what the weather is like we are determined to go for a hike in the forest.