raw material
Americannoun
noun
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material on which a particular manufacturing process is carried out
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a person or thing regarded as suitable for some particular purpose
raw material for the army
Etymology
Origin of raw material
First recorded in 1790–1800
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.
Berlin has created a raw material fund, but it is still small.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026
A key raw material for many of these plastic goods is ethylene, which is derived from naphtha, an oil by-product.
From Barron's • Jun. 28, 2026
Because gas is the raw material needed to make new stars, such outflows could significantly reduce future star formation.
From Science Daily • Jun. 19, 2026
"Our raw material, our gold, our copper, goes to other countries... we are experiencing misery."
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
The man realized that the animals on Salatin’s farm were not being treated like unfeeling raw material, but like living creatures.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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.
