From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwhat’s the matter?/something’s the matter/nothing’s the matter etcwhat’s the matter?/something’s the matter/nothing’s the matter etcspoken used to ask or talk about why someone seems worried, unhappy, or ill, why something about a situation seems wrong, or why a machine seems not to be working properly What’s the matter? You look as though you’ve been crying. ‘Is something the matter?’ ‘Just a headache – I’ll be fine in a minute.’ You look worried. Is there anything the matter? What’s the matter with Bill? What’s the matter with your eye? It looks red. I know something’s the matter. You’re frightened of something. Nothing’s the matter, honestly, I’m fine. There was nothing the matter with it (=it was all right) when I lent it to him. She had something the matter with her back. → matter
