raw material

American  

noun

1. material before being processed or manufactured into a final form.

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raw material British  

noun

1. material on which a particular manufacturing process is carried out

2. a person or thing regarded as suitable for some particular purpose

   raw material for the army

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Etymology

Origin of raw material

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Because sodium is far more abundant and widely available than lithium, manufacturers could potentially lower raw material costs while reducing long-term supply chain risks.

From Science Daily • Jun. 21, 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

Compared with a year earlier, raw material prices climbed 33.4%, led by sharp increases for conventional crude oil, gold, silver and platinum group metals, and synthetic crude.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

"Our raw material, our gold, our copper, goes to other countries... we are experiencing misery."

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

Bombarding the waste uranium with neutrons would allow the United States to “break the bottleneck of this raw material problem,” he promised.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik