Synonyms

raw material

American

noun

material before being processed or manufactured into a final form.

raw material British

noun

material on which a particular manufacturing process is carried out
a person or thing regarded as suitable for some particular purpose

raw material for the army

"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

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.

See Examples For:

raw material

Besides a growing reliance on inputs and raw material, Chinese imports to India are also being propelled by other macroeconomic trends.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Production of the second batch of trays was delayed because Pioneer used much of the raw material figuring out how to get the job done right.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

"Gas giants like Jupiter must assemble their massive atmospheres while the disk is still substantial enough to supply them, before winds and jets carry that raw material away into space."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Normally soybean oil—the raw material for biodiesel—costs more than the finished fuel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

From this raw material, Lawrence was creating a cohesive research organization.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023