natural resource
Americannoun
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a naturally occurring source of wealth, as land or water.
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natural resources, the natural wealth of a country, consisting of land, forests, mineral deposits, water, etc.
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Something, such as a forest, a mineral deposit, or fresh water, that is found in nature and is necessary or useful to humans.
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See more at nonrenewable renewable
Etymology
Origin of natural resource
First recorded in 1865–70
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.
Beijing is also targeting the lunar South Pole, not least for its rich natural resource potential.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
The natural resource became an important bargaining chip in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, as the U.S. is heavily reliant on China to supply rare earth minerals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025
Meanwhile, there is no shortage of either development or security challenges for the president despite Cameroon's rich natural resource diversity.
From BBC • Oct. 27, 2025
And in 2009, the new constitution even recognized “ancestral coca as cultural patrimony, a renewable natural resource of Bolivia’s biodiversity, and as a factor of social cohesion.”
From Salon • Mar. 9, 2025
I was simply a material, a natural resource to be used.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
