resource
Americannoun
-
resources
plural
-
a source of supply, support, or aid, especially one that can be readily drawn upon when needed.
- Synonyms:
- service, help, assistance, support, aid
-
resources, the collective wealth of a country or its means of producing wealth.
-
Usually resources money, or any property that can be converted into money; assets.
-
Often resources an available means afforded by the mind or one's personal capabilities.
to have resource against loneliness.
-
an action or measure to which one may have recourse in an emergency; expedient.
-
capability in dealing with a situation or in meeting difficulties.
a woman of resource.
- Synonyms:
- ingenuity, adaptability
noun
-
capability, ingenuity, and initiative; quick-wittedness
a man of resource
-
(often plural) a source of economic wealth, esp of a country (mineral, land, labour, etc) or business enterprise (capital, equipment, personnel, etc)
-
a supply or source of aid or support; something resorted to in time of need
-
a means of doing something; expedient
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of resource
First recorded in 1640–50; from French ressource, Old French ressourse, noun derivative of resourdre “to rise up,” from Latin resurgere, equivalent to re- re- + surgere “to rise up, lift”; see resurge, source
Explanation
A resource is any personal talent or outside supply that can be tapped for help or support. Resource comes from an old French word meaning "relief" or "recovery," which certainly ties in with the idea of a resource being something that offers necessary aid. However, the word resource also refers to the natural resources available in and on our Earth — things that we are constantly drawing on and depleting, such as our trees, ores, and atmosphere. Once such a natural resource is used up, it’s usually gone forever, and is no longer a resource.
Vocabulary lists containing resource
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
List 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
More than 60 have been approved, in fields including respiratory care, cybersecurity and water resource management.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The U.S. held a near-monopoly on the gas, designating it a strategic resource and prohibiting its exportation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Because propellant is the spacecraft's main consumable resource, every kilogram saved during its journey can potentially translate into additional years of scientific observations.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
"The energy he's brought to the group already has been immense and you know I feel very privileged for us to be able to have him as a resource within our dressing room," said McCullum.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
“What a fellow of resource you are!” my friend would reply, with admiration.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
So now it’s a matter of having the resources to hire, the numbers that we need to hire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Those steps become much harder when laboratory resources are limited.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
More resources must be dedicated to model alignment, or ensuring that an AI model’s behaviors match human values and intentions, he argued.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Higher-order organisms have developed a way of triaging that information, selecting what is relevant to our safety and our survival, and making instant decisions about how to allocate our resources and our attention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
PIH believed in sending resources directly to Cange, down “the steep gradient of inequality.”
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
