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
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
See all Example Sentences for raw material 
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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
See all Example Sentences for raw material
Dictionary Entries Near raw material
Cite this Entry
“Raw material.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raw%20material. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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