resource
Americannoun
-
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
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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List 3
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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:
As recently as the 1990s, Thailand’s plunging birthrate was celebrated as a success by demographers worried about overpopulation and resource scarcity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
There are a few benefits for those tech giants, some experts say, including broadening the availability of compute, which is a high-demand, necessary resource for AI companies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“We want to be able to be responsible stewards of this precious resource, but also make sure that the patient gets the the best treatment.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Kim said her experience had also brought home the lack of attention and resource given to tackling brain cancer, where survival rates in the UK have not changed for decades.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The first time he and Cara went to the resource center on Monday afternoon, it took him only twenty minutes to set up the basic framework of the newspaper.
From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements
Ultimately, what sisterhood there is between “Five-Star Weekend” and “Ride or Die” can be seen in the way they consider the resources a woman has as she enters middle age.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Supt Judy Hill added that the "ongoing multi agency response remains a high priority, with significant partnership resources and volunteers working tirelessly and in challenging circumstances, to support our efforts to extinguish the fires".
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government had deployed "all available resources" to fight the fires.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
“We often judge our younger selves using knowledge, maturity and resources that we did not possess at the time,” Penberthy says.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
After all, people do not hand over their land, resources, children, and futures without a struggle!
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
