a matter of

idiom

—used to refer to a small amount

It cooks in a matter of (a few) minutes.

The crisis was resolved in a matter of a few hours.

The ball was foul by a matter of inches.

—used to say that one thing results from or requires another

Learning to ride a bicycle is a matter of practice.

His success was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

It's only a matter of time before/until we catch him.

—used to explain the reason for something

She insists on honesty as a matter of principle.

All requests for free tickets are turned down as a matter of policy.

Examples of a matter of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Within a matter of weeks, the agency terminated its finance director, ousted its CEO, laid off a third of its workforce, and failed to make payroll for 19 employees. —

Cary Spivak, Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024 In a matter of months, no one will be complaining about where he was taken. —

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024 But as a matter of timing, saying it out loud complicated Mr. Blinken’s diplomacy. —

Peter Baker, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024 Whereas an older meme such as the indelible Doge—a wide-eyed Shiba Inu from a photograph taken in Japan—percolated online for years before becoming mega-popular, the Donghua Jinlong memes tore across TikTok in a matter of weeks. —

Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2024 These changes should be made not only as a matter of policy but also as a matter of law. —

Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024 Applications for the Uniting for Ukraine program are also adjudicated fairly quickly, sometimes in a matter of weeks or even days — a rarity in a backlogged and understaffed U.S. immigration system. —

Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2024 In a matter of weeks, the Kings fell from the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference to missing the playoffs entirely. —

Michael McGough, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024 The landslide was one of several that occurred last month after a series of winter rainstorms drenched Southern California, dumping more than a typical year’s worth of rain on the region in a matter of weeks. —

Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'a matter of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.