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

Fantasy accords bring together a variety of notes to create a scent that either can’t be found in nature or can’t be extracted from raw materials. —Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 11 Jan. 2026

These raw materials are indispensable for industries from defense to technology, and the administration has repeatedly stressed their importance for US national security. —John Towfighi, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026

Wubble is trying something different, collaborating directly with musicians and paying them for the raw material used to train Wubble’s AI. —Angelica Ang, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2026

Korkmazer added that rising wages, together with energy costs and raw material volatility, will push the Turkish denim sector further toward higher value, better engineering, and stronger quality standards. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 9 Jan. 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