0 a situation or subject that is being dealt with or considered:
Please phone me back - it's a matter of some importance.
Talking about the world's problems is one thing, but solving them is another matter altogether (= is completely different).
Her resignation is not going to help matters.
Three of our players were ill, and to make matters worse, our main scorer had broken his ankle.
Baking a cake isn't difficult - it's just a matter of following the recipe.
2 physical substance in the universe:
Some scientists believe that there is about ten times as much matter in the universe as astronomers have observed.
Most vegetable matter is compostable.
3 a substance or things of a particular type:
advertising/printed matter
Do you find the subject matter of the book (= the subject that the book deals with) interesting?
4 used in expressions describing how small an amount or period of time is:
She complained he had short-changed her, but it was only a matter of a few pence.
5 to be important, or to affect what happens:
We were late but it didn't seem to matter.
"What did you say?" "Oh, it doesn't matter."
[ + question word ] It doesn't matter what you wear - just as long as you come.
[ + that ] It didn't matter that our best player was injured after ten minutes - we still won.
I know Charles doesn't think this project is important, but it matters to me.
6 a situation or subject that is being dealt with or considered:
7 the reason for pain or worry:
What’s the matter? Why are you so upset?
9 to be important:
[ I ] "What did you say?" "Oh, it doesn’t matter."
[ + question word ] It no longer mattered what happened.
It's all right working with him, but living with him would be a different matter altogether.
The government decided to hold a public enquiry into the matter.
The whole matter is further complicated by the fact that Amanda and Jo refuse to speak to each other.
What's the matter with Lulu?
中文繁体
情況, 事情,事件, 問題…
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情况, 事情,事件, 问题…
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asunto, materia, importar…
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assunto, matéria, importar…
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事, 事態, 問題…
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konu, mesele, sorun…
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question [feminine], affaire [feminine], matière [feminine]…
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qüestió, assumpte, matèria…
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