MATTER (matter)

Pronunciation (US):

• MATTER (noun)
  The noun MATTER has 6 senses:

1. that which has mass and occupies space
2. a vaguely specified concern
3. some situation or event that is thought about
4. a problem
5. (used with negation) having consequence
6. written works (especially in books or magazines)

  Familiarity information: MATTER used as a noun is common.

• MATTER (verb)
  The verb MATTER has 1 sense:

1. have weight; have import, carry weight

  Familiarity information: MATTER used as a verb is very rare.

• MATTER (noun)

Meaning:

That which has mass and occupies space

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

Synonyms:

matter; substance

Context example:

an atom is the smallest indivisible unit of matter

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

physical entity (an entity that has physical existence)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

vehicle (a substance that facilitates the use of a drug or pigment or other material that is mixed with it)

goo; gook; guck; gunk; muck; ooze; slime; sludge (any thick messy substance)

fluid (a substance that is fluid at room temperature and pressure)

fluid (a continuous amorphous substance that tends to flow and to conform to the outline of its container: a liquid or a gas)

leaven; leavening (a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or a liquid)

jelly (a substance having the consistency of semisolid foods)

inoculant; inoculum (a substance (a virus or toxin or immune serum) that is introduced into the body to produce or increase immunity to a particular disease)

humectant (any substance that is added to another substance to keep it moist)

medium ((biology) a substance in which specimens are preserved or displayed)

culture medium; medium ((bacteriology) a nutrient substance (solid or liquid) that is used to cultivate micro-organisms)

medium (an intervening substance through which something is achieved)

fuel (a substance that can be consumed to produce energy)

foamentation (a substance used as a warm moist medicinal compress or poultice)

element (one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe)

digestive (any substance that promotes digestion)

system ((physical chemistry) a sample of matter in which substances in different phases are in equilibrium)

refrigerant (a substance used to provide cooling (as in a refrigerator))

vegetable matter (matter produced by plants or growing in the manner of a plant)

metabolite (any substance involved in metabolism (either as a product of metabolism or as necessary for metabolism))

ligand (an atom or molecule or radical or ion that forms a complex around a central atom)

essence (any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted)

emanation (something that is emitted or radiated (as a gas or an odor or a light etc.))

volatile (a volatile substance; a substance that changes readily from solid or liquid to a vapor)

solvate (a compound formed by solvation (the combination of solvent molecules with molecules or ions of the solute))

solute (the dissolved substance in a solution; the component of a solution that changes its state)

solid (a substance that is solid at room temperature and pressure)

antigen (any substance (as a toxin or enzyme) that stimulates an immune response in the body (especially the production of antibodies))

chemical irritant (a substance producing irritation)

poison; poisonous substance; toxicant (any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism)

lysin (any substance (such as an antibody) or agent that can cause lysis)

residue (matter that remains after something has been removed)

chemical compound; compound ((chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight)

food; nutrient (any substance that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue)

precursor (a substance from which another substance is formed (especially by a metabolic reaction))

elixir; philosopher's stone; philosophers' stone (a hypothetical substance that the alchemists believed to be capable of changing base metals into gold)

micronutrient (a substance needed only in small amounts for normal body function (e.g., vitamins or minerals))

antimatter (matter consisting of elementary particles that are the antiparticles of those making up normal matter)

dark matter ((cosmology) a hypothetical form of matter that is believed to make up 90 percent of the matter in the universe; it is invisible (does not absorb or emit light) and does not collide with atomic particles but exerts gravitational force)

ylem ((cosmology) the original matter that (according to the big bang theory) existed before the formation of the chemical elements)

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

deposit; sediment (matter that has been deposited by some natural process)

grinding (matter resulting from the process of grinding)

drift (something that is heaped up by the wind or by water currents)

living substance; protoplasm (the substance of a living cell (including cytoplasm and nucleus))

body substance (the substance of the body)

bedding; bedding material; litter (material used to provide a bed for animals)

ballast (any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship)

phlogiston (a hypothetical substance once believed to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burning)

allergen (any substance that can cause an allergy)

carcinogen (any substance that produces cancer)

substrate (the substance that is acted upon by an enzyme or ferment)

ferment (a substance capable of bringing about fermentation)

inhibitor (a substance that retards or stops an activity)

activator ((biology) any agency bringing about activation; a molecule that increases the activity of an enzyme or a protein that increases the production of a gene product in DNA transcription)

denaturant (any substance that serves as a denaturing agent)

propellant; propellent (something that propels)

chemical element; element (any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter)

atom ((physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element)

adulterant; adulterator (any substance that adulterates (lessens the purity or effectiveness of a substance))

hydrocolloid (a substance that forms a gel with water)

mixture ((chemistry) a substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together (not in fixed proportions and not with chemical bonding))

pyrogen (any substance characterized by its great flammability)

pyrectic; pyrogen (any substance that can cause a rise in body temperature)

assay (a substance that is undergoing an analysis of its components)

Meaning:

A vaguely specified concern

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

affair; matter; thing

Context examples:

several matters to attend to / it is none of your affair / things are going well

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

concern (something that interests you because it is important or affects you)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

least (something that is of no importance)

Meaning:

Some situation or event that is thought about

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

topic; subject; matter; issue

Context examples:

he kept drifting off the topic / he had been thinking about the subject for several years / it is a matter for the police

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

cognitive content; content; mental object (the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

area (a subject of study)

res adjudicata; res judicata (a matter already settled in court; cannot be raised again)

blind spot (a subject about which you are ignorant or prejudiced and fail to exercise good judgment)

Meaning:

A problem

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

is anything the matter?

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

problem; trouble (a source of difficulty)

Meaning:

(used with negation) having consequence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

they were friends and it was no matter who won the games

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

consequence; import; moment (having important effects or influence)

Meaning:

Written works (especially in books or magazines)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he always took some reading matter with him on the plane

Hypernyms ("matter" is a kind of...):

piece of writing; writing; written material (the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "matter"):

recitation (written matter that is recited from memory)

addendum; postscript; supplement (textual matter that is added onto a publication; usually at the end)

hard copy ((computer science) matter that is held in a computer and is typed or printed on paper)

soft copy ((computer science) matter that is in a form that a computer can store or display it on a computer screen)

back matter; end matter (written matter following the main text of a book)

front matter; prelims (written matter preceding the main text of a book)

typescript (typewritten matter especially a typewritten copy of a manuscript)

text (the main body of a written work (as distinct from illustrations or footnotes etc.))

text; textual matter (the words of something written)

dictation (matter that has been dictated and transcribed; a dictated passage)

• MATTER (verb)

Meaning:

Have weight; have import, carry weight

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

matter; count; weigh

Context example:

It does not matter much

Hypernyms (to "matter" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "matter"):

press; weigh (to be oppressive or burdensome)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
It ----s that CLAUSE

Also:

matter to (be of importance or consequence)