source material
Americannoun
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.
What to know: John Steinbeck’s epic novel is the source material for this ambitious limited series created by Zoe Kazan, whose grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the 1955 film adaptation of the book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
An improvement on the source material: HBO’s new show Lanterns takes a character with an embarrassing history and makes him fascinating.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
None have measured up to their source material, although Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music in the 2024 prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King” contributed the best ditties to the studio’s songbook in decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Jefferson still had his nose in his books—his dome is based on Palladio’s reconstruction of the Roman temple of Vesta—but he transformed his source material, much as Shakespeare did, to serve his own purposes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Pulcinella is sparklingly inventive with its source material but it is nevertheless the musical equivalent of placing the Art Deco spire of Manhattan's Chrysler Building on top of Christopher Wren's Greenwich Hospital.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
