matter
n. C / Un. a subject, situation, or problem that you need to think about or deal with. It can also mean the physical stuff that everything in the universe is made of.
n. a subject under consideration or a situation requiring action; in a physical sense, any substance that has mass and occupies space. Often used in legal or formal contexts to refer to a specific case or topic.
I need to talk to you about a private matter.
The manager promised to look into the matter and find a solution by the end of the week.
While the legal team focused on the procedural matter of the filing deadline, the scientists were more concerned with the properties of the organic matter found at the site.
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”).
Often used in the phrase 'as a matter of fact' or 'no matter what'. In its physical/scientific sense, it is typically uncountable.
It is not matter to meIt does not matter to meLearners often confuse the noun 'matter' with the verb 'matter'. The noun requires a preposition or a different sentence structure.