n.
1.the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
2.a causal agent creating and controlling things in the universe
3.the natural physical world including plants and animals and landscapes etc.
4.the complex of emotional and intellectual attributes that determine a person's characteristic actions and reactions
5.a particular type of thing
Idiom of the Day
sum and substance
a summary, the gist of something
The sum and substance of what the speaker said was very interesting.