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

Producers say those agreements rarely cover the costs of raw materials, workers’ wages or maintenance of their distilleries. —Claudia Rosel, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026

Because cold gas is the raw material needed to form new stars, stellar feedback can effectively regulate future star formation inside galaxies. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 11 May 2026

Many paid higher prices for raw materials and equipment and had no choice but to eat the losses or pass them along to their customers. —Linda Sánchez, Oc Register, 9 May 2026

The researchers reported that the material achieved up to seven times higher CO2 adsorption capacity compared to the original raw material. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 8 May 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