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
C. A. Koepke
broadly
: something with a potential for improvement, development, or elaboration
… perplexities are often the raw material of discoveries. —Agnes M. Clerke
Agnes M. Clerke Examples of raw material in a Sentence
His experiences during the war were the raw material for the story.
Recent Examples on the Web
From a theoretical point of view, the advantages of free trade are as great as ever, but as a practical matter, since tech companies do not import or export many industrial goods or raw materials, free trade in goods matters much less to companies like Meta than to those like Walmart or GM.
—Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
These compounds are important building blocks for living things, and with luminous red novas making such a significant contribution to interstellar dust, these events could have also played a key role in supplying the raw materials needed for life on Earth.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The largely frozen island is also known for an abundance of untapped raw materials, from oil and gas reserves to critical mineral deposits and a treasure trove of rare earth elements.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
The scale of the project’s raw material ballooned as Wilson shot 140 hours in several countries, unsure about how the final version of his film might unfold.
—William Earl, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
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Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
These compounds are important building blocks for living things, and with luminous red novas making such a significant contribution to interstellar dust, these events could have also played a key role in supplying the raw materials needed for life on Earth.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The largely frozen island is also known for an abundance of untapped raw materials, from oil and gas reserves to critical mineral deposits and a treasure trove of rare earth elements.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
The scale of the project’s raw material ballooned as Wilson shot 140 hours in several countries, unsure about how the final version of his film might unfold.
—William Earl, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for raw material
Cite this Entry
“Raw material.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raw%20material. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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