raw material

noun

|Updated on: 19 Jul 2018

Examples: raw material in a Sentence

: 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

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See raw material defined for kids

Examples of raw material in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of raw material from the Web

The singer is also a long-running artist, known for creating works out of simple raw materials such as paper, cardboard and paint.

— carolina a. miranda, latimes.com, "Datebook: Shots of old Route 66, dreamlike paintings and garments fashioned from paper," 12 July 2018
Consumer goods The round of tariffs that went into effect last Friday mainly applied to raw materials imported by American companies.

— hallie detrick, Fortune, "Trump Just Announced Tariffs on $200 Billion More Chinese Goods. Here's What's Different About This Round," 11 July 2018
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Emhart’s predecessor operated a chemical manufacturing facility on the peninsula and used a raw material contaminated with a toxic form of dioxin.

— stephen singer, courant.com, "Stanley, Black & Decker Agrees To $100 Million Cleanup Of RI Superfund Site," 9 July 2018
Up to this point, scientists thought dopamine was nothing more than raw material for making noradrenaline.

— denise gellene, BostonGlobe.com, "Arvid Carlsson, 95; discovered a treatment for Parkinson’s," 2 July 2018
This low-cobalt chemistry will account for 57 percent of EV batteries by 2030, from 7 percent in 2020, and help reduce the sensitivity of battery pack prices to raw materials, according to BNEF.

— david stringer, Bloomberg.com, "Threat of Cobalt Supply Shock Is Top Risk for Electric Vehicles," 21 May 2018
And then, gold disappeared from the international agreements in October 1976, simply to become a raw material among others.

— jack heuer, A-LIST, "How TAG Heuer Survived the Great Gold Calamity," 30 Mar. 2018
The top quality materials will be resold to local thrift outlets, mid-grade items are exported to international markets and unusable items are processed for raw materials, the company says.

— jesse leavenworth, Courant Community, "East Hartford To Launch Free Curbside Clothing, Textiles Recycling," 26 Mar. 2018
Trade barbs between the U.S. and China have ratcheted up in recent weeks, fueling concerns that protectionist trade policies might spread, slowing the global economy and choking demand for raw materials.

— amrith ramkumar, WSJ, "Once-Hot Metals Market Faces Reality of Looming Trade War," 1 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'raw material.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of raw material

1612

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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raw material Synonyms

Synonyms

making, material, stuff, substance;

Related Words

possibility, potential, potentiality;

matter, metal;

Financial Definition of RAW MATERIAL

raw material

noun

What It Is

Raw materials are commodities, parts or substances that are assembled or processed to form a final product.

How It Works

For example, the raw materials involved in chocolate chip cookies are butter, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla, baking powder and chocolate.

Why It Matters

Raw materials determine the quality and cost of producing an item. Many raw materials are commodities that trade on the futures market. For many companies, acquiring raw materials at a good price makes the difference between having a profitable year and having an unprofitable year.

Raw materials may be considered unfinished goods and thus recorded as inventory on the balance sheet.

Source: Investing Answers