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

Parisian couture unions sought official recognition from the government in order for haute couture houses to receive preferential access to scarce raw materials. — Alicja Zelazko, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2026

The only Western political movement in the last ten years that correctly identified the raw material under this anger, if not the right prescription, was the Brexit party. — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2026

Toyota officials said the company mitigated the impact of rising raw material prices by optimizing its global supply network and maintaining strong sales. — ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

Sustainable apparel brand Paka is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an ambitious goal to source nearly all its raw material from natural and plant-based fibers by the end of the decade. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 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