material (məˈtɪərɪəl
)
Definitions
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
See also
materialsAlternative Forms
maˈterialness nounWord Origin
C14: via French from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteriamatterSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
information,
work,
details,
facts,
notes,
evidence,
particulars,
data,
info,
subject matter,
documentation,
Translations
- British English:
material
A material is what something is made of, like rock, glass, or plastic.Wax is a soft material.məˈtɪərɪəl NOUN Wax is a soft material.
- Spanish:
material
nm
- French:
matière
nf
- German:
Material
nnt Materialien
- Chinese: 材料 n
- Arabic: مَادَّةٌ n
- Portuguese: material nm
- Russian: материал nm
- Croatian: materijal nm
- Czech: materiál nm
- Danish: materiale nnt
- Dutch: materiaal nnt
- Finnish: materiaali n
- Greek: υλικό nnt
- Italian: materiale nm
- Japanese: 材料 n
- Korean: 재료 n
- Norwegian: materiale nnt
- Polish: materiał nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: material nm
- European Spanish:
material
nm
- Swedish: material nnt
- Thai: วัสดุ n
- Turkish: malzeme n
- Vietnamese: vật liệu n
Usage examples
He scrolled back and forth through the material he'd downloaded, puzzled.
, THE LAST TEMPTATION (2002)Never before had such figures been drawn so close to the plane; never before had so much material literally been stripped away.
Country Life (2004)He said in the past inert material from road improvements might have been dumped there.
Irish Times (2002)The crowds adore the new hairdo as much as they go mental for the new material.
Glasgow Herald (2001)In their beliefs we can find the origins of ourselves as a people who are capable of more than just a material existence.
, ABORIGINE DREAMING: Introduction to the Wisdom and Thought of the Aboriginal Traditions of Australia (2002)