material
the substance or substances of which a thing is made or composed: Stone is a durable material.
anything that serves as crude or raw matter to be used or developed: Wood pulp is the raw material from which paper is made.
any constituent element.
a textile fabric: material for a dress.
a group of ideas, facts, data, etc., that may provide the basis for or be incorporated into some integrated work: to gather material for a history of North Carolina;to write material for a comedy show.
materials, the articles or apparatus needed to make or do something: writing materials.
a person considered as having qualities suited to a particular sphere of activity: The boy's teachers did not think he was college material.
formed or consisting of matter; physical; corporeal: the material world.
relating to, concerned with, or involving matter: material forces.
pertaining to the physical rather than the spiritual or intellectual aspect of things: material comforts.
pertaining to or characterized by an undue interest in corporeal things; unspiritual.
characterized by an overriding interest in wealth and possessions and the consumption of luxury goods and services: You could probably call him a material guy, as he’s had expensive tastes and a lust for fashion from the time he was a kid.
of substantial import; of much consequence; important: Your support will make a material difference in the success of our program.
pertinent or essential (usually followed by to): a question not material to the subject at hand.
Law. likely to influence the determination of a case: material evidence.
Philosophy. of or relating to matter as distinguished from form.
Origin of material
1synonym study For material
Other words for material
Opposites for material
Other words from material
- ma·te·ri·al·ness, noun
- pre·ma·te·ri·al, adjective
- qua·si-ma·te·ri·al, adjective
- qua·si-ma·te·ri·al·ly, adverb
- su·per·ma·te·ri·al, noun
- trans·ma·te·ri·al, adjective
- un·ma·te·ri·al, adjective
- un·ma·te·ri·al·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with material
- material , matériel
Words Nearby material
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use material in a sentence
This is because all three used the same materials and pedagogical approach.
Why hasn’t digital learning lived up to its promise? | Walter Thompson | September 17, 2020 | TechCrunchFacebook Business Suite has the potential to make them better social media marketers, which could then have a material impact on SMB sales — and survival.
Facebook Business Suite is a new cross-app management tool for SMBs | Greg Sterling | September 17, 2020 | Search Engine LandThe purse-size bag is made with whitewater-raft-shell material and eschews the typical roll-top or waterproof zipper for a double seal using strong magnets and Velcro.
The Gear That Lets Me Enjoy the Last Days of Summer | Graham Averill | September 15, 2020 | Outside OnlineFirst, the placement of the audit report to be discussed on our committee’s website is behind some 300 pages of other material, as if someone were trying to bury it.
Politics Report: Forged Footnote 15 | Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts | September 12, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoNASA will sort out any retrieval plans for the material at a later date.
NASA wants to buy moon rocks from anyone who can fund their own space trip | Verne Kopytoff | September 10, 2020 | Fortune
The CDA was passed not in the name of censorship but in the name of protecting children from stumbling across sexual material.
The genetic material can grow quickly, but are typically riddled with errors or defects.
Cold War fears could be manipulated through misleading art to attract readers to daunting material.
Where the U.S. once depended on its own forces to determine who was military material, this time the Iraqis will decide.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’ | Nancy A. Youssef | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIn any case, some enterprising independent producer might have enough material for a reality-show pilot.
Eggs and nestlings were found lying on the bare soil at the inner ends of the burrows; no nesting material was found.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula | Erwin E. KlaasI would ask you to imagine it translated into every language, a common material of understanding throughout all the world.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsThe sleeves of his doublet which protruded from his leather casing were of the same colour and material as his trunks.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniIt makes out of the savage raw material which is our basal mental stuff, a citizen.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsShe waited for the material pictures which she thought would gather and blaze before her imagination.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin
British Dictionary definitions for material
/ (məˈtɪərɪəl) /
the substance of which a thing is made or composed; component or constituent matter: raw material
facts, notes, etc, that a finished work may be based on or derived from: enough material for a book
cloth or fabric
a person who has qualities suitable for a given occupation, training, etc: that boy is not university material
of, relating to, or composed of physical substance; corporeal
philosophy composed of or relating to physical as opposed to mental or spiritual substance: the material world
of, relating to, or affecting economic or physical wellbeing: material ease
of or concerned with physical rather than spiritual interests
of great import or consequence: of material benefit to the workers
(often foll by to) relevant
philosophy of or relating to matter as opposed to form
law relevant to the issue before court: applied esp to facts or testimony of much significance: a material witness
Origin of material
1- See also materials
Derived forms of material
- materialness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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