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

• 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

Northville, Birmingham Gazelle Sports, a store with locations all over the southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, will take used running shoes and send them off to Terracycle, a company that collects non-recyclable waste for companies and turns it into raw materials that can be used in new products. —Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 6 Sep. 2025

Voters are left wondering whether their neighborhoods exist to elect leaders of their choice or to serve as raw material for the ambitions of politicians. —Matt Klink, Oc Register, 6 Sep. 2025

This breakthrough provides a sustainable substitute for palm oil, one of the most controversial raw materials in global supply chains. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025

The manufacturing sector, which turns raw materials into goods, is East Asia’s largest energy user and source of greenhouse gas emissions. —Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 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