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say it: SUHB-stuhns
substance is a noun meaning "the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists". It carries 8 recorded senses.
the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists
“DNA is the substance of our genes”
the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
“the gist of the prosecutor's argument”
“the heart and soul of the Republican Party”
“the nub of the story”
Canada · United Kingdom
the idea that is intended
“What is the meaning of this proverb?”
material of a particular kind or constitution
“the immune response recognizes invading substances”
considerable capital (wealth or income)
“he is a man of means”
what a communication that is about something is about
the property of holding together and retaining its shape
“wool has more body than rayon”
“when the dough has enough consistency it is ready to bake”
a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties
“shigella is one of the most toxic substances known to man”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for substance come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.