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

The problem for data geeks like Savouri, however, and for investors, is the increasingly unreliable raw material that governments are providing them.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Reputedly, he destroyed hundreds of his own negatives, and the celluloid was melted down -- and some of it used as raw material to make soldiers' boots during World War I.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

Although the rate of inflation was marginal and below the long-run survey trend, companies in the RatingDog survey reported increases in fuel, raw material and labor costs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

This gas acts as the raw material for building new stars.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

A new impetus for the project had emerged: fears of a shortage of uranium ore, the raw material for the production of plutonium bomb cores.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik