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

• 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

These vast resources of corvée labor and raw materials also enabled powerful rulers to secure their place in the afterlife. —Vanessa Taylor, Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025

That goes all the way to the group’s Tier 3 suppliers, which includes raw material producers like cotton farmers. —Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2025

Instead of being a problem that clogs oceans and landfills, plastic could become the raw material for tools that protect human health. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2025

Crafted from precious raw materials and presented in striking red vessels, the fragrances usher the house into a bolder, more sensual territory. —Michael Stefanov, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2025

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