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.
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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.
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an action or measure to which one may have recourse in an emergency; expedient.
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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
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(often plural) a source of economic wealth, esp of a country (mineral, land, labour, etc) or business enterprise (capital, equipment, personnel, etc)
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a supply or source of aid or support; something resorted to in time of need
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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
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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:
The findings suggest that discarded coffee grounds could eventually become an important feedstock for producing renewable fuels and other valuable materials, turning a familiar source of everyday waste into a resource with multiple industrial uses.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2026
More broadly, it includes provisions on "strategic" minerals in line with a "resource nationalism" drive under way in several African countries.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026
Successive council administrations have shown a "lack of ambition" in making the most of the "fantastic resource" that was discovered, says one of the area's Senedd members.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026
A Fairfield police school resource officer reviewed surveillance footage from the store and identified the suspect as a former student.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
On any planet, no matter what its biology or social system, an exponential increase in population will swallow every resource.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
To confirm the findings and examine the white dwarf's orbital motion, the researchers analyzed more than 100 hours of radio observations using computing resources at the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2026
At an outdoor Mass, Pope Leo spoke of "declining birth rates that are emptying villages," and the unequal distribution of the land's resources.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2026
Combining their resources will let them write bigger checks and gives them a budget to hire staff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2026
This inequity fuels distrust in a region that's long witnessed the arrival of opportunists eager to exploit its rich resources, including beaver pelts, gold and oil.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
