raw material

noun

: crude or processed material that can be converted by manufacture, processing, or combination into a new and useful product

Wheat … is raw material for the flour mill …

—C. A. Koepke

broadly : something with a potential for improvement, development, or elaboration

… perplexities are often the raw material of discoveries.

—Agnes M. Clerke

Synonyms of raw material

• potential
• material

Examples of raw material in a Sentence

His experiences during the war were the raw material for the story.

Recent Examples on the Web

As the Mars-7 argue over the best way to mine its raw materials, Dev Ayesa, Ed Baldwin, and other conspirators launch a daring (and successful) plan to hijack the asteroid, and tow it into Mars orbit. —Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2026

Instead, Moonshot envisions shooting raw materials in orbit for in-space manufacturing. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2026

In his telling, the raw materials at the heart of the Cucinelli brand are not merely fine fabrics but art, literature and philosophy. —Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026

For Reformation, raw material sourcing drives 40 percent of the brand’s total carbon footprint. —Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for raw material

• arterial
• bacterial
• ethereal
• funereal
• imperial
• sidereal
• venereal
• antibacterial
• biomaterial
• mycobacterial
• cereal
• virial

Kids Definition

raw material

noun

: something from which a useful or desirable product can be manufactured or produced

wheat and rye are the raw materials for a flour mill

collect raw material for writing a story