matrix
noun
Simple meaning
A mold or form in which something develops, or a surrounding substance
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
maytriksSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmeɪtɹɪks
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The cavity or mold in which anything is formed.
biology
The body substance in which tissue cells are embedded
biology
The material or tissue in which more specialized structures are embedded.
The metaphorical place where something is made, formed, or given birth.
figurative
A social institution or apparatus perceived as largely deceptive or illusory.
A table of data.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The body substance in which tissue cells are embedded
Used this way, matrix is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use matrix
- “This complex matrix helps us organize all the data.”noun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.