what's the matter

Idioms  

1. What is the difficulty or problem? What troubles or ails you? For example, You look upset—what's the matter? or Can you tell me what's the matter with my car? This idiom uses matter in the sense of “the essence of something,” in this case a problem. It was first recorded in 1469. Also see what's with.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

what's the matter

He observes, for example, that “in one of the strange involutions of the modern age, we go onto the internet to see what’s the matter with the internet.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025

“That’s why we keep this stuff confidential, and why it makes perfect sense to do it even though everything in you screams, ‘I want to know what’s the matter with him.’”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024

When your daughter calls you, depending on how you answered the phone and your first few words, she can tell, "Mom, what's the matter?"

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2021

“I said, ‘Jim, what’s the matter, is anything wrong?’

From New York Times ● Nov. 14, 2019

“I know what’s the matter with you,” he said.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick