material
Americannoun
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the substance or substances of which a thing is made or composed.
Stone is a durable material.
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anything that serves as crude or raw matter to be used or developed.
Wood pulp is the raw material from which paper is made.
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any constituent element.
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a textile fabric.
material for a dress.
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a group of ideas, facts, data, etc., that may provide the basis for or be incorporated into some integrated work.
to gather material for a history of North Carolina;
to write material for a comedy show.
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materials, the articles or apparatus needed to make or do something.
writing materials.
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a person considered as having qualities suited to a particular sphere of activity.
The boy's teachers did not think he was college material.
adjective
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formed or consisting of matter; physical; corporeal.
the material world.
- Antonyms:
- incorporeal
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relating to, concerned with, or involving matter.
material forces.
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pertaining to the physical rather than the spiritual or intellectual aspect of things.
material comforts.
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pertaining to or characterized by an undue interest in corporeal things; unspiritual.
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characterized by an overriding interest in wealth and possessions and the consumption of luxury goods and services.
You could probably call him a material guy, as he’s had expensive tastes and a lust for fashion from the time he was a kid.
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of substantial import; of much consequence; important.
Your support will make a material difference in the success of our program.
- Antonyms:
- unimportant
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pertinent or essential (usually followed byto ).
a question not material to the subject at hand.
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Law. likely to influence the determination of a case.
material evidence.
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Philosophy. of or relating to matter as distinguished from form.
noun
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the substance of which a thing is made or composed; component or constituent matter
raw material
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facts, notes, etc, that a finished work may be based on or derived from
enough material for a book
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cloth or fabric
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a person who has qualities suitable for a given occupation, training, etc
that boy is not university material
adjective
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of, relating to, or composed of physical substance; corporeal
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philosophy composed of or relating to physical as opposed to mental or spiritual substance
the material world
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of, relating to, or affecting economic or physical wellbeing
material ease
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of or concerned with physical rather than spiritual interests
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of great import or consequence
of material benefit to the workers
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(often foll by to) relevant
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philosophy of or relating to matter as opposed to form
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law relevant to the issue before court: applied esp to facts or testimony of much significance
a material witness
Usage
What is a basic definition of material? Material refers to a thing that something else is made out of. Material can also refer to cloth or can be used to describe something that is made of matter and exists in the physical world. Material has many other senses as a noun and an adjective. If something is a housing material, it is an item that is used to build a house. Nearly anything could be a material, as long as it is possible to use it to make something else. In this sense, material is similar to the word ingredient.
- Real-life examples: Stone, wood, metal, bamboo, and brick are used as building materials. Many toys have plastic as their primary material. Glass is a common material for windows and containers.
- Used in a sentence: The box was made out of some sort of spongy material.
- Real-life examples: Wool, silk, polyester, cotton, and velvet are some common materials used to make clothing and many other products.
- Used in a sentence: The dress was made using a very soft material.
- Real-life examples: Everything that we can experience or detect using our senses is material. This includes all things that exist in our universe, such as people, animals, rocks, water, and the stars.
- Used in a sentence: Philosophers often think beyond the material world.
Related Words
See matter.
Other Word Forms
- materialness noun
- prematerial adjective
- quasi-material adjective
- quasi-materially adverb
- supermaterial noun
- transmaterial adjective
- unmaterial adjective
- unmaterially adverb
Etymology
Origin of material
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Late Latin māteriālis “of, belonging to matter,” equivalent to māteri(a) “woody part of a tree, substance” ( matter ) + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The heat shield is made of a material called Avcoat that is supposed to melt away during re-entry,
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The study also revealed that Cooper pairs in this material behave as if they carry angular momentum, similar to a spinning object.
From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026
It’s important for families to consider the other ways children might come in contact with the material, including through bottles and toys, she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Lamp-maker Sue Johnson says her small California business has been hit hard by tariffs, which prompted her supplier to roughly double the price of mica, a material she uses in her Art Deco-inspired designs.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
The spike dashes against Lala’s boots, though, breaking off against the tough material.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
