be only/just a matter of time

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be only/just a matter of time [idiom]

If it is (only) a matter of time until something happens, it is certain to happen but you do not know when it will happen

Example:

It's only a matter of time before they bring out their own version of the software.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

It’s only/just a matter of timeused to say that something will definitely happen in the future It can only be a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

it's just a matter of time (before …)

it's just/only a matter of ˈtime (before…) idiom
used to say that sth will definitely happen, although you are not sure when

• It's only a matter of time before they bring out their own version of the software.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

be (only) a matter of time

C1 If it is (only) a matter of time until something happens, it is certain to happen but you do not know when it will happen:

It's only a matter of time before he's forced to resign.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

phrase

If you say that something is just a matter of time, you mean that it is certain to happen at some time in the future.

It would be only a matter of time before he went through with it.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

used to say that one thing results from or requires another

Learning to ride a bicycle is a matter of practice.
His success was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
It's only a matter of time before/until we catch him.

American English

British English

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