material

American  

[muh-teer-ee-uhl] / məˈtɪər i əl /

noun

materials plural

1. the substance or substances of which a thing is made or composed.

   Stone is a durable material.

2. anything that serves as crude or raw matter to be used or developed.

   Wood pulp is the raw material from which paper is made.

3. any constituent element.

4. a textile fabric.

   material for a dress.

5. 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.

6. materials, the articles or apparatus needed to make or do something.

   writing materials.

7. a person considered as having qualities suited to a particular sphere of activity.

   The boy's teachers did not think he was college material.

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adjective

1. formed or consisting of matter; physical; corporeal.

   the material world.

   Antonyms:

   incorporeal

2. relating to, concerned with, or involving matter.

   material forces.

3. pertaining to the physical rather than the spiritual or intellectual aspect of things.

   material comforts.

4. pertaining to or characterized by an undue interest in corporeal things; unspiritual.

5. 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.

6. of substantial import; of much consequence; important.

   Your support will make a material difference in the success of our program.

   Synonyms:

   vital, essential

   Antonyms:

   unimportant

7. pertinent or essential (usually followed byto ).

   a question not material to the subject at hand.

8. Law. likely to influence the determination of a case.

   material evidence.

9. Philosophy. of or relating to matter as distinguished from form.

material British  

/ məˈtɪərɪəl /

noun

1. the substance of which a thing is made or composed; component or constituent matter

   raw material

2. facts, notes, etc, that a finished work may be based on or derived from

   enough material for a book

3. cloth or fabric

4. a person who has qualities suitable for a given occupation, training, etc

   that boy is not university material

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or composed of physical substance; corporeal

2. philosophy composed of or relating to physical as opposed to mental or spiritual substance

   the material world

3. of, relating to, or affecting economic or physical wellbeing

   material ease

4. of or concerned with physical rather than spiritual interests

5. of great import or consequence

   of material benefit to the workers

6. (often foll by to) relevant

7. philosophy of or relating to matter as opposed to form

8. law relevant to the issue before court: applied esp to facts or testimony of much significance

   a material witness

Usage

What is a basic definition of material? Material refers to a thing that something else is made out of. Material can also refer to cloth or can be used to describe something that is made of matter and exists in the physical world. Material has many other senses as a noun and an adjective. If something is a housing material, it is an item that is used to build a house. Nearly anything could be a material, as long as it is possible to use it to make something else. In this sense, material is similar to the word ingredient.

• Real-life examples: Stone, wood, metal, bamboo, and brick are used as building materials. Many toys have plastic as their primary material. Glass is a common material for windows and containers.
• Used in a sentence: The box was made out of some sort of spongy material. 

Material is also used to refer to the cloth or fabrics that are used in weaving, sewing, or knitting.

• Real-life examples: Wool, silk, polyester, cotton, and velvet are some common materials used to make clothing and many other products.
• Used in a sentence: The dress was made using a very soft material. 

Material is used to describe something that is made of matter and exists in our physical reality. Think about something that isn’t material, like a ghost. A ghost is not material because it cannot be detected with any of our senses and is not made out of anything we can understand. Thoughts, feelings, and ideas are also not material. You can’t touch them or see them. In this sense, material is often used to contrast terms like spiritual, intangible, and metaphysical.

• Real-life examples: Everything that we can experience or detect using our senses is material. This includes all things that exist in our universe, such as people, animals, rocks, water, and the stars.
• Used in a sentence: Philosophers often think beyond the material world.

Synonym Usage

See matter.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• materialness
  noun
• supermaterial
  noun
• prematerial
  adjective
• quasi-material
  adjective
• transmaterial
  adjective
• unmaterial
  adjective
• quasi-materially
  adverb
• unmaterially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• materials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of material

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Late Latin māteriālis “of, belonging to matter,” equivalent to māteri(a) “woody part of a tree, substance” ( see matter) + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

Material is cloth from which clothes, curtains, or similar items can be created. If you sew your own bathing suit, it's important to make sure the material you use doesn't turn transparent when it gets wet. The noun material can also refer to the items or substances used to create something. If you want to build a swing set, you'll need to buy materials like treated lumber, bolts, and screws. You can also use the adjective material to describe something that is worldly rather than spiritual. If you join that religious order, you are supposed to give up your material goods — even your convertible.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

material materials

Thirty-three percent of those lines are rated as a high priority for replacement based on factors including age, leak history, pipe material and surrounding geological conditions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Those operations may pertain more to recovering material from the location than trying to rebuild its capabilities, experts outside government said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Macquarie’s bull at Jefferies thinks the appointment of an internal candidate as CEO reduces risks of a material near-term strategy shift.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

They suggest that different versions of the gene may also influence how well brain cells preserve and repair their genetic material over time.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

But that always happens in the beginning of learning new material.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

This means onlookers will still see business names in the programme, on promotional materials and on stage at Custom House Square, but this year the only financial support will come from the public funders.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Unlike electricity, to which AI is often compared, users don’t have to wait for a power line or the invention of capacitors, insulating materials and electric motors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The cost of materials rose to a one-year high and companies raised prices on customers to offset their own higher expenses, leading to the steepest rise in business-related inflation since 2022.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Producing rare earth materials is also environmentally difficult.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

“This is one of the training areas. We try for mostly organic materials, but this wooden set was donated, and it works; sometimes that’s the best we can do,” Dr. Martin says.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

Related Words

• cloth
• component
• element
• equipment
• goods
• ingredient
• machinery
• object
• stuff
• substance
• supply
• textile