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

Alumina is a substance extracted from bauxite ore that is mainly used as the raw material to smelt aluminum metal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

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

The findings add to growing evidence that nutrients do more than simply provide raw material for the body.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

However, intensifying raw material costs and still-competitive pricing conditions could offer more challenges, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 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