2
general::
verb ADV. a great deal, a lot, really These things matter a lot to young children. | hardly, little (formal), not much, scarcely She could find a job. It hardly mattered what. | no longer, not any more VERB + MATTER not seem to Somehow it didn't seem to matter much any more. PREP. about It doesn't matter about the mess. | to It didn't matter to her that he was blind., noun subject/situation that must be dealt with ADJ. important, pressing, serious, urgent, weighty He left, saying he had pressing matters to attend to. The question of his innocence is a weighty matter for this court. | awkward, complex, complicated, delicate, difficult I wasn't sure how to approach the delicate matter of pay. | no easy, (no) simple It is then a simple matter to print off the data you have collected. It is no simple matter starting a new business. | trifling, trivial | practical They've agreed in theory, but now we need to discuss practical matters. | family, personal | subject His articles deal with a wide range of subject matter. | economic, environmental, financial, legal, political, procedural, routine, technical The rest of the meeting was taken up by routine matters. | different I don't mind lizards, but snakes are a different matter. VERB + MATTER bring up, broach, raise I thought I'd better broach the matter with my boss. The matter will be raised at our next meeting. | address, debate, discuss, go into, take up I don't really want to go into this matter now. | pursue, take further After legal advice I chose to take the matter further. | drop His lawyer advised him to drop the matter. | consider, examine, look at/into, tackle | clarify, clear up, decide, resolve, settle It's a relief to have the matter settled. | approach, deal with, treat Police are treating the matter as a murder enquiry. PREP. in a/the ~ I don't have much experience in these matters. Do I have any choice in the matter? | on a/the ~ Speak to your manager if you need help on this matter. | ~ for The incident is definitely a matter for the police. | ~ of It's a matter of concern to all of us. We discussed the matter of whether or not to hire a bus. Getting the effect you want is a matter of trial and error. PHRASES the crux/heart of the matter (= the most important part of a subject/situation), let the matter drop/rest She refused to let the matter rest. | the matter in hand Let's concentrate on the matter in hand for now, and leave other issues till later. matters: situation you are in VERB + MATTER complicate, confuse, make worse, not help It didn't help matters that I had a terrible cold. To make matters worse, my friend then lost her keys. | arrange She always arranges matters to suit herself. substance ADJ. solid | organic, vegetable composed entirely of organic matter | inanimate, inorganic | printed, written
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
4
general::
matter
adjectives
a serious/important matter
• It is a very serious matter to mislead the police.
an urgent matter
(= something that needs to be dealt with quickly )
a weighty matter
(= an important matter )
• I was surprised that this weighty matter was decided so quickly.
a small/trivial matter
(= a matter that is not important )
• Walking out over such a small matter may seem ridiculous.
a simple/easy matter
(= something that is easy to do )
• Putting together the bookcases is a fairly simple matter.
a personal/private matter
• We never spoke about personal matters.
a financial/legal/religious etc matter
• This is a legal matter and should be discussed with a solicitor.
a practical matter
• He wrote to him several times about practical matters to do with the house.
verbs
discuss the matter
• She refused to discuss the matter.
raise the matter (with somebody)
(= discuss something with someone )
• If you need further training, raise the matter with your manager.
consider the matter
(= think about something )
settle/resolve the matter
(= decide something )
• They are meeting tonight to settle the matter.
pursue the matter
(= keep discussing or asking about something )
• She decided not to pursue the matter, as it obviously upset him.
investigate the matter
(= try to find out the truth about something )
• The police said they were investigating the matter.
let the matter rest/drop
(= stop discussing or worrying about something )
• I was too curious to let the matter drop.
phrases
a matter of importance
(= something important )
• He consulted her on all matters of importance.
a matter of concern
(= something that concerns people )
• Safety standards in the industry have become a matter of concern.
a matter for debate/negotiation/discussion
(= something to be debated/negotiated etc )
• How to solve the housing crisis is a matter for debate.
a matter for speculation/conjecture
(= something people discuss and wonder about )
• His future had become a matter for speculation.
be a matter for somebody (to decide)
(= be something that a particular person should decide )
• This is a matter for the judge.
the matter at hand
( also the matter in hand British English ) (= the thing you are dealing with now )
• Do not let yourself be distracted from the matter in hand.
be no laughing matter
(= be something serious and important, though it might seem funny )
• A doctor’s bad handwriting is no laughing matter, because it can lead to errors.
the heart/crux of the matter
(= the most important part of something )
• The crux of the matter is: how do we prevent these floods from happening again?
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