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

Cheaper alternative The high price disparity between raw materials is a main driver of this innovation, with lithium currently trading at over 80 times the cost of iron. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 Apr. 2026

The plant would use the rail yard to load and off-load raw materials, according to city zoning documents. —Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Apr. 2026

The central bank said the cost increases were due to unforseen changes to the plans, the rising cost of raw materials, equipment and labor. —Steve Kopack, NBC news, 24 Apr. 2026

Her renovation didn’t bring in Duncan Phyfe chairs and period-appropriate wallpaper, either, but instead pared the home back to its raw materials and simple forms. —Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 23 Apr. 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