How to spell matter

hear itmat·ter/'mætər/nounLong vowels

What it means: Physical substance that takes up space.

In a sentence: The size of a balloon can change depending on how much air you matter into it.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double t. Often misspelled as mater or mattar.

Same family: matters, mattered, mattering, no-matter, what’s-the-matter. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Matter comes from Latin "materia," meaning wood or stuff, which also gave us the word "material." Over time, English speakers began using "matter" not only for physical stuff but also for questions, problems, and concerns—what something is "about."

Patterns it uses: Double the consonant before a suffix?

Try spelling it

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