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 merger provided the galaxy with an abundance of gas and dust, the raw material for intense star formation. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 7 July 2026

Any interesting chemical reactions enclosed there would eat through the raw materials and grind to a halt. — ArsTechnica, 2 July 2026

The recent blockade of the Straits of Hormuz placed unique pressures on the raw materials required to fabricate silicon. — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Italian yarn mills can produce almost everything — and are focused on raw materials such as wool, cashmere, cotton, silk, linen and manmade materials such as viscose. — Footwear News, 2 July 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