subject matterˈsubject ˌmatter noun [uncountable] 
Examples
The movie has been rated ‘R’ due to adult subject matter.
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Griggs became famous for the controversial subject matter of his art.
- A few years later, Mr Matthiesen saw a picture of the same subject matter when previewing forthcoming sale material at Sotheby's.
- Although each chapter discusses many applications, the editors carefully cross reference subject matter within the diverse chapters to reduce redundancy.
- First, such programming draws huge audiences, which suggests that people are interested in both the subject matter and the subjects.
- Schooling is about more than just subject matter.
- The subject matter was much too technical for her, many of the words almost incomprehensible.
- The child-use section contains instructional materials in a wide variety of format and subject matter for the children themselves.
Longman Language Activatorsomething you talk about, write about etc► subject
what is being talked about in speech or writing, or represented in art: something that is talked about or written about, for example at a meeting, in an article, or in a conversation: · I read a lot of books about astronomy. It's a very interesting subject.· We talked about all sorts of subjects.· Bottle-collecting even has a website devoted to the subject. the subject of crime/politics/animal rights etc (=crime etc as a subject): · Until about 20 years ago, the subject of the environment was hardly discussed.on the subject (of something) (=about a particular subject): · The first book on the subject was published in 1900.· He has very little to say on the subject of the accusations made against him.change the subject (=start talking about something different): · I could see John was embarrassed, so I changed the subject.drop the subject (=to stop talking about something): · This is getting us nowhere. Let's just drop the subject, okay?
► subject matter what is being talked about, or what a film, book, play etc is about: · There has been no attempt to arrange the books according to subject matter.· Sagan published a book relating to the subject matter in his TV show. · 'The People versus Larry Flynt' was given an '18' certificate because it contains adult subject matter.
► topic a subject that people often discuss or write about, in books, newspapers, at school etc: · The rise of Islam is a popular topic these days.· Type the topic into the search field, and let the browser search all relevant sites.· Dole's absence was the topic of radio talk shows.
► thing especially spoken something that people talk about or think about: · The first thing we have to discuss is the price.· The only thing she ever talks about is her boyfriend.· We talked about the old days and other things.
► issue an important subject that people discuss and argue about: · We'll be looking at a broad range of important issues in this chapter.· Genetic manipulation is a fairly topical issue these days.· a book dealing with environmental issuesissue of: · the issue of drugs in sportsmajor/big/key/main issue (=a very important issue): · Global warming and youth crime are the key issues in the election campaign.
► question a difficult subject or problem that has often been discussed but still needs to be solved: · The real question here is how can we integrate asylum seekers into communities.· How can we best help less developed countries? That's the really important question.question of: · In the 1980s the question of whether photography was an art went to court.raise a question (=make people consider a problem): · These operations can save lives, but they raise difficult questions about animal rights.
► matter a subject that people disagree about or are concerned about, and that needs to be considered and discussed in order to deal with it: · The matter is being argued and discussed in families up and down the country.· Foreign affairs were not the only matters we discussed.· This meeting is being held to deal with the serious matter of possible racism in our hiring practices.matter of: · The first item on the agenda today is the matter of public transportation.
► theme an important idea that appears several times in a book, film etc, and slowly influences the way it develops: · One of the themes of the book is the relationship between people and nature.· George Eliot shows real concern for religious and moral themes. · The play's central theme is greed and its corrupting effects.
► business something that needs to be discussed at a business or political meeting: · Right, could we get started please? We've a lot of business to get through this morning.
► any other business British in a meeting, subjects that are not on the list of things to discuss, but that people may want to talk about: · Is there any other business before we close the meeting?
The movie has been rated ‘R’ due to adult subject matter.