matter-of-course

5.6

Happening in a normal, expected way

adjective
/ˈmætər əv kɔrs/

: natural

He handled the crisis with a matter-of-course calm that impressed his colleagues.

Examples

The promotion was treated as a matter-of-course by everyone in the office.
Her acceptance of the award seemed a matter-of-course reaction to her years of hard work.
For her, helping others is a matter-of-course.
It's just a matter-of-course for him to arrive early.
For her, passing the final exam was a matter-of-course achievement, given her consistent study habits.
In their family, it was a matter-of-course that birthdays would always be celebrated with a big party.
He took the promotion with a matter-of-course attitude, knowing his hard work had earned it.

Antonyms

remarkable

588 2.8

Unusual and easy to notice because it is different or surprising

unexpected

392 2.5

Happening without warning

How Expected

matter-of-course

5.6

likely

∞ 1.0

possible

∞ 1.0

unlikely

487 1.9

Surface Forms

matter-of-course positive

Morphology

matter-of-course = matter + course (semi-transparent) = of + matter + course

The phrase's components are recognizable, but the fixed idiomatic meaning ('routine' or 'expected') is not fully predictable from the parts for an average learner.

Etymology

The word matter-of-course comes from matter meaning 'a thing' and course meaning 'a way' or 'path' that things follow. So a matter-of-course is something that happens in the usual way and is not surprising.