material

[ muh-teer-ee-uhl ]

/ məˈtɪər i əl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR material ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the substance or substances of which a thing is made or composed: Stone is a durable material.

anything that serves as crude or raw matter to be used or developed: Wood pulp is the raw material from which paper is made.

any constituent element.

a textile fabric: material for a dress.

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.

materials, the articles or apparatus needed to make or do something: writing materials.

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

formed or consisting of matter; physical; corporeal: the material world.

relating to, concerned with, or involving matter: material forces.

pertaining to the physical rather than the spiritual or intellectual aspect of things: material comforts.

pertaining to or characterized by an undue interest in corporeal things; unspiritual.

of substantial import; of much consequence; important: Your support will make a material difference in the success of our program.

pertinent or essential (usually followed by to): a question not material to the subject at hand.

Law. likely to influence the determination of a case: material evidence.

Philosophy. of or relating to matter as distinguished from form.

Origin of material

1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin māteriālis of, belonging to matter. See matter, -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR material

12 essential, vital.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR material ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR material

8 incorporeal.

12 unimportant.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR material ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for material

1. See matter.

OTHER WORDS FROM material

ma·te·ri·al·ness, noun pre·ma·te·ri·al, adjective qua·si-ma·te·ri·al, adjective qua·si-ma·te·ri·al·ly, adverb

su·per·ma·te·ri·al, noun trans·ma·te·ri·al, adjective un·ma·te·ri·al, adjective un·ma·te·ri·al·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH material

material matériel

Words nearby material

mater dolorosa, mater turrita, materfamilias, materia alba, materia medica, material, material cause, material culture, material equivalence, material implication, material mode

Example sentences from the Web for materials

How do you find the materials, and how do you manage to get them across New York to the sites?

#Setinthestreet: Your Street Corner Is Their Art Project |James Joiner |December 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“Our volunteers donate their time, materials, and use of their 3-D printers to create them,” Jen Owen, a member of e-NABLE, said.

3-D Printing Is Changing the Future of Prosthetics |Lucy Vernasco |December 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The collective stresses that it has no intentions of museum-izing the materials it has gathered.

The Monuments Men of Occupy Hong Kong |Brendon Hong |December 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Most people could agree on whether a given configuration of materials is a functioning vehicle or a useless set of parts.

The Birth of the Novel |Nick Romeo |November 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Standards are a little sloppier when it comes to Christian materials.

Dismembering History: The Shady Online Trade in Ancient Texts |Candida Moss |November 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The numerous enquiries which the patient had made, furnished him with materials for reflexion.

Observations on Madness and Melancholy |John Haslam
The Washington building is the expression in materials of their aspirations for what is best and most beautiful.

Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association Held at Ottawa, Canada June 26-July 2, 1912 |Various
The materials for this work can in part be obtained from a bindery.

Notes on Bookbinding for Libraries |John Cotton Dana
It will be my fault if I do not make a good work; but I sometimes take an awful fright that I have not materials enough.

The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Volume I (of II) |Charles Darwin
They perform important offices, although they are not the materials to rear and consolidate the edifice of thought.

On the Nature of Thought |John Haslam

British Dictionary definitions for materials (1 of 2)

materials

/ (məˈtɪərɪəlz) /

pl n

the equipment necessary for a particular activity

British Dictionary definitions for materials (2 of 2)

material

/ (məˈtɪərɪəl) /

noun

the substance of which a thing is made or composed; component or constituent matter raw material

facts, notes, etc, that a finished work may be based on or derived from enough material for a book

cloth or fabric

a person who has qualities suitable for a given occupation, training, etc that boy is not university material

adjective

of, relating to, or composed of physical substance; corporeal

philosophy composed of or relating to physical as opposed to mental or spiritual substance the material world

of, relating to, or affecting economic or physical wellbeing material ease

of or concerned with physical rather than spiritual interests

of great import or consequence of material benefit to the workers

(often foll by to) relevant

philosophy of or relating to matter as opposed to form

law relevant to the issue before court: applied esp to facts or testimony of much significance a material witness

Derived forms of material

materialness, noun

Word Origin for material

C14: via French from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria matter

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

material

noun

adjective

Origin of material

SYNONYMS FOR material

ANTONYMS FOR material

synonym study for material

OTHER WORDS FROM material

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH material

Words nearby material

Example sentences from the Web for materials

British Dictionary definitions for materials (1 of 2)

pl n

British Dictionary definitions for materials (2 of 2)

noun

adjective

Derived forms of material

Word Origin for material

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

material

noun

adjective

Origin of material

SYNONYMS FOR material

ANTONYMS FOR material

synonym study for material

OTHER WORDS FROM material

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH material

Words nearby material

Words related to materials

Example sentences from the Web for materials

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for materials (1 of 2)

pl n

British Dictionary definitions for materials (2 of 2)

noun

adjective

Derived forms of material

Word Origin for material

British Dictionary definitions for materials (1 of 2)