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

This would be possible because Japan already possesses the raw materials and expertise to do so. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 28 Dec. 2025

Taking visibility further, the producer is developing a traceability solution that spans from raw materials to finished product shipping, leveraging RFID and UPCs. —Sarah Jones, Sourcing Journal, 26 Dec. 2025

The jackstraw presented a puzzle to be solved, raw material from which to excavate a way through. —Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025

That means having raw materials ready at the right place at the right time. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 22 Dec. 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