| 单词 | matter |
| 释义 | noun | verb mattermatter1 /ˈmæt̮ɚ/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1SUBJECT/SITUATION [countable] a subject or situation that you have to think about or deal with: We should discuss the matter in private. When her husband died, she had to handle all of the financial matters. He doesn’t discuss personal matters at the office. They could not reach an agreement and finally decided to let the matter drop (=stop discussing it). Safety standards in the industry have become a matter of concern.a matter for somebody This is a matter for the police. He turned the conversation back to the matter at hand (=the thing you need to deal with now). The crux of the matter is: how do we prevent these floods from happening again (=the most important part of the situation)? A doctor’s bad handwriting is no laughing matter because it can lead to errors (=it is serious and important).► see thesaurus at subject12matters [plural] a situation that you are in or have been describing: Herrera still hoped to settle matters peaceably. It didn’t help matters when the books failed to arrive. To make matters worse, it was raining. To complicate matters further, the law has recently been changed (=make the situation more complicated).3SUBSTANCE [uncountable] a)science, physics anything in the universe that has mass, including solids, liquids, and gases SYN substance b)waste/solid/organic/vegetable etc. matter a substance that consists of waste material, solid material, etc. c)a yellow or white substance that is found in wounds or next to your eye► see thesaurus at substance4a matter of something used when what happens or what you do involves or depends on something else: As a matter of policy (=because of a rule), the department refuses to comment on the investigation. It has nothing to do with money; it’s a matter of principle (=I am doing something because I believe it is the right thing to do).a matter of course/routine We have spoken to the police as a matter of course (=because it is what we do in this type of situation). Today, family size is a matter of choice, not luck. The type of vacation you prefer is a matter of taste. Beauty is a matter of opinion (=different people will have different opinions).5be a matter of (doing) something used to say that you only have to do a particular thing, or do something in a particular way, in order to be successful: I think it’s just a matter of believing in ourselves. Installing a new modem isn’t always a simple matter of replacement.SPOKEN PHRASES6the matter used in several phrases to ask or talk about why someone seems worried, unhappy, or ill, why something about a situation seems wrong, or why a machine seems not to be working correctly: What’s the matter, Sue? You look like you’ve been crying. What’s the matter with your eye? It looks red. What’s the matter with the telephone? Don’t be so rude! What’s the matter with you (=used when you are surprised or angry about what someone has said or done)?is (there) something/anything the matter? (=used to ask someone why they are upset or angry, or if they are not feeling well) You look upset. Is something the matter? Tom’s been acting really strange – I think there must be something the matter. There’s something the matter with the washing machine. Stop pretending that nothing’s the matter and tell me what’s wrong. The doctor said there was nothing the matter with him (=he was not sick or injured).7as a matter of fact used when giving a surprising or unexpected answer that adds more detail to a question or statement: I met her last week – as a matter of fact, I have her phone number right here.8no matter how/where/what etc. used to say that something is always the same whatever happens, or in spite of someone’s efforts to change it: Vince tends to wake up at the same time, no matter what time he goes to bed. No matter how hot it is outside, it’s always cool in here.9no matter what (happens) used to say that you will definitely do something: I decided to leave at the end of six months, no matter what.10no matter old-fashioned used to say that something you have asked about or said is not important: No matter, I’ll pick up the clothes at the cleaners tomorrow. He wanted to swim, no matter that the water was icy.11or ... for that matter used to say that what you are saying about one thing is also true about something else: I’ve never seen the place this quiet on a Friday night, or any other night for that matter.12the fact/truth of the matter (is) used to say what you think is really true: The fact of the matter is we have a crisis on our hands.13that’s the end of the matter used to tell someone that you do not want to talk about something anymore: You’re not going out tonight, and that’s the end of the matter.14be a different matter used to say that one situation or problem is very different from the one you have just mentioned, and may not be as easy, nice, etc.: Saying you’ll do something is one thing, but actually doing it can be an entirely different matter.15the little/small matter of something an expression meaning something that is not important or not difficult, used in a joking way when something really is important or difficult: After the final exam, there is the little matter of a 50-page research paper.16something is only/just a matter of time used to say that something will definitely happen at some time in the future: matter until/before It’s just a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt.17something is a matter of life and death used to say that a situation is extremely serious or dangerous and something must be done immediately: Call the police immediately – this is a matter of life and death.18a matter of days/hours/months etc. only a few days, hours, etc.: His whole life had come apart in a matter of days.19reading/printed matter things that are written for people to read20as a matter of urgency formal done as quickly as possible because it is very important[Origin: 1100–1200 Old French matere, from Latin materia matter, substance, from mater mother] → see also gray matter, mind over matter at mind1 (48), subject matterUSAGE: the matterUse the matter to mean “trouble” or “a problem” only in questions or negative sentences: What’s the matter, Audrey? There’s nothing the matter with it.COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa serious/important matter There are important matters we have to discuss.an urgent matter I need to speak with him immediately about an urgent matter.a small/trivial matter Quitting your job over such a small matter is ridiculous.a simple/easy matter Putting together the bookcases is a fairly simple matter.a personal/private matter We never spoke about personal matters.a legal/religious/financial etc. matter This is a legal matter and should be discussed with a lawyer.a delicate/sensitive matter (=needing to be dealt with carefully to avoid upsetting or offending someone) There is something I need to talk to you about – it’s a delicate matter.a weighty matter formal (=an important matter) I was surprised that this weighty matter was decided so quickly.a complex/complicated matter Since this is quite a complex matter, professional advice is essential.a pressing matter (=needing to be dealt with soon) There was a more pressing matter to discuss.verbsdiscuss the matter She refused to discuss the matter.bring up/raise the matter (=start a conversation about it) If you need further training, raise the matter with your manager.take up the matter (=discuss and do something about a situation) The committee is expected to take up the matter later this week.deal with the matter (also handle the matter) I knew I had handled the matter badly.consider the matter (=think about something) She considered the matter carefully before making a decision.settle/resolve the matter (=decide something) They are meeting tonight to settle the matter.investigate the matter (=try to find out the truth about something) The police said they were investigating the matter.pursue the matter (=keep discussing or asking about something) She decided not to pursue the matter, as it obviously upset him.a matter relates to something The police do not comment on matters relating to security. noun | verb mattermatter2 ●●● S1 W2 verb [intransitive] 1[not in progressive] to be important, especially to be important to you personally, or to have a big effect on what happens: Does it matter what he thinks?matter to Do you think what I say will matter to him? It calls for brown sugar, but it doesn’t matter – you can use white.it does/doesn’t matter who/why/what etc. It doesn’t matter how much suntan lotion I put on, I still burn. We seldom talk about the things that really matter.matter most/much/little/less What will matter most to the voters? As long as it serves the community, that’s all that matters. That’s the only thing that matters to them – money. What matters is how the food tastes, not how it looks. She was with the man she loved and nothing else mattered. At that time, it hardly mattered that some workers couldn’t read. Now it does.2it doesn’t matter spoken a)used to say that you do not care which one of two things you have: “Do you want white or dark meat?” “Oh, it doesn’t matter.” b)used to tell someone that you are not angry or upset about something, especially something that he or she has done: “I think I recorded over your show.” “It doesn’t matter.”3what does it matter? spoken used to say that something is not very important: We’ll do it tomorrow or the next day. What does it matter? |
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