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

The contrast indicated reductions across all life cycle stages (for example, a 19 percent reduction in raw materials footprint), with the claims based on life cycle analyses consistent with ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 3 Dec. 2025

Data is the raw material of competitive advantage in AI. —Dave McCann, Fortune, 26 Nov. 2025

Fragrance choices respond to who the client is and how the space functions for them, and reflect the raw materials, color palettes, lighting strategies, and textural finishes chosen. —Francesca Perry, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2025

Traditional Portland-style cement is made by grinding up limestone and other raw materials, then heating the resulting powder to temperatures of up to 1,450 ºC (2,642 ºF). —New Atlas, 25 Nov. 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