Meanings
- Close enough not to matter, or to be essentially the same.
As near as matters, three billion people would be hearing him. And, as near as matters, one billion Martians.
1954, Fredric Brown, Martians, Go Home1 more example
What is needed to distinguish the two is the fact that it really was Esa rather than Twin Esa who figured appropriately in the etiology of Arabella's inner state. And that is as near as matters to saying that the truth-condition rather than the 'narrow' conceptual role is the vehicle of learning.
1986, Ernest LePore, Truth and Interpretation, page 253
Origin
An illogical formation, perhaps by confusion with "as near as makes no odds" or similar.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
as near as matters. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20near%20as%20matters
“as near as matters.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20near%20as%20matters. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “as near as matters,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20near%20as%20matters.
Source: as near as matters on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.