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

• making
• material
• stuff
• substance
• timber

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 increase in cost ratio is due to higher raw material costs in the garment manufacturing segment. —Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024

Last year, ProPublica looked at inflation through the lens of the humble automobile tire, tracing the raw materials from a rubber plantation in Southeast Asia to a repair shop in Mississippi to try to answer the question: Why are prices so high? —ProPublica, 2 Nov. 2024

Much of production will happen in the Midwest, with states like South Carolina leading recycling efforts while others establish domestic mines, refine raw materials, and recycle batteries. —Rhett Buttle, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

The Labor Department said its survey of establishments — the raw material for payrolls numbers — was distorted by hurricane effects, as well as an unusually tight window for employers to respond to the department's surveys. —Axios, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

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