matter
verb/ˈmætə(r)/
/ˈmætər/
[intransitive, transitive] not used in the progressive tensesVerb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they matter | /ˈmætə(r)/ /ˈmætər/ |
| he / she / it matters | /ˈmætəz/ /ˈmætərz/ |
| past simple mattered | /ˈmætəd/ /ˈmætərd/ |
| past participle mattered | /ˈmætəd/ /ˈmætərd/ |
| -ing form mattering | /ˈmætərɪŋ/ /ˈmætərɪŋ/ |
- to be important or have an important effect on somebody/something
- ‘I'm afraid I forgot that book again.’ ‘It doesn't matter (= it is not important enough to worry about).’
- ‘What did you say?’ ‘Oh, it doesn't matter’ (= it is not important enough to repeat).
- After his death, nothing seemed to matter any more.
- She was trying to get noticed by the people who matter.
- matter to somebody The children matter more to her than anything else in the world.
- Councillors are tackling the things that matter most to local people.
- matter who, what, etc… Does it really matter who did it?
- It doesn't matter how fast you walk (= it will not make any difference), you're going to get very wet.
- matter to somebody who, what, etc… It doesn't matter to me what you do.
- matter (to somebody) that… It didn't matter that the weather was bad.
- What does it matter if I spent $100 on it—it's my money!
- As long as you're happy, that's all that matters.
- He's been in prison, you know—not that it matters (= that information does not affect my opinion of him).
Extra Examples- Somehow it didn't seem to matter much any more.
- These things matter a lot to young children.
- It doesn't matter about the mess.
- She could find a job. It hardly mattered what.
- It doesn't matter one whit what their background is.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- a great deal
- a lot
- greatly
- …
- not seem to
- about
- to
- not matter a/one bit
- not matter a/one jot
- not matter a/one whit
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin materia ‘timber, substance’, also ‘subject of discourse’, from mater ‘mother’.
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matter