material
ma·ter·ial [material materials] noun, adjective BrE [məˈtɪəriəl] NAmE [məˈtɪriəl]
noun
1. uncountable, countable cloth used for making clothes, curtains, etc.
Syn: ↑fabric
•a piece of material
• ‘What material is this dress made of?’ ‘Cotton.’
2. countable, uncountable a substance that things can be made from
•building materials (= bricks, sand, glass, etc.)
see also ↑raw material
3. countable, usually plural, uncountable things that are needed in order to do a particular activity
•teaching materials
• The company produces its own training material.
• (figurative)The teacher saw her as good university material (= good enough to go to university).
4. uncountable information or ideas used in books, etc
• She's collecting material for her latest novel.
5. uncountable items used in a performance
• The band played all new material at the gig.
Word Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘relating to matter’): from late Latin materialis, adjective from Latin materia ‘matter’.
Thesaurus:
material noun
1. U, C
•What material is this dress made of?
fabric • • cloth • • textile •
woven/cotton/woollen material/fabric/cloth/textiles
furnishing/curtain/dress material/fabric
a length/piece/strip/roll/scrap of material/fabric/cloth
2. C, U
•Oil is the raw material for plastic.
substance • • chemical • |informal stuff • |formal physics matter •
a natural/toxic material/substance/chemical
organic/radioactive material/substances/chemicals/matter
waste material/chemicals/matter
3. C, usually pl.
•You have to buy your own art materials.
equipment • • gear • • kit • |informal stuff •
basic materials/equipment/kit
have the right materials/equipment/gear/kit/stuff
use the materials/equipment/gear/kit
Synonyms:
equipment
material • gear • kit • apparatus
These are all words for the things that you need for a particular purpose or activity.
equipment • the things that are needed for a particular purpose or activity: ▪ camping equipment ◇ ▪ a piece of equipment
material • things that are needed for a particular activity: ▪ household cleaning materials ◇ ▪ teaching material
equipment or material?
Equipment is usually solid things, especially large ones. Materials may be liquids, powders or books, CDs, etc. containing information, as well as small solid items.
gear • the equipment or clothes needed for a particular activity: ▪ Skiing gear can be expensive.
kit • a set of tools or equipment that you use for a particular purpose: ▪ a first-aid kit ◇ ▪ a tool kit
apparatus • the tools or other pieces of equipment that are needed for a particular activity or task: ▪ breathing apparatus for firefighters ◇ ▪ laboratory apparatus
Apparatus is used especially for scientific, medical or technical purposes.
electrical/electronic equipment/gear/apparatus
sports equipment/gear/kit
camping equipment/gear
a piece of equipment/apparatus
Synonyms:
fabric
cloth • material • textile
These are all words for woven or knitted cotton, silk, wool, etc, used for making things such as clothes and curtains, and for covering furniture.
fabric • woven or knitted cotton, silk, wool, etc, used for making things such as clothes and curtains, and for covering furniture: ▪ cotton fabric ◇ ▪ furnishing fabrics
Fabric is often fairly strong material, and is often used when talking about covering furniture or making curtains.
cloth • fabric made by weaving or knitting cotton, wool, silk, etc: ▪ His bandages had been made from strips of cloth.
Cloth is often fairly light material, especially in a form that has not been printed, treated, or prepared for use in any way. Cloth is frequently used in talking about buying and selling woven material.
material • fabric used for making clothes, curtains, etc: ▪ ‘What material is this dress made of?’ ‘Cotton.’ Material is a more general word than fabric or cloth as it has the related meaning of ‘a substance that things can be made from’. It is not used when it might not be clear which type of material is meant: furnishing material ◇ the material industry ◇ a material manufacturer
textile • any type of fabric made by weaving or knitting: ▪ He owns a factory producing a range of textiles. ◇ ▪ the textile industry
Textile is used mostly when talking about the business of making woven materials. The industry of making textiles is called textiles: ▪ He got a job in textiles.
woven/cotton/woollen fabric/cloth/material/textiles
synthetic fabric/material/textiles
printed fabric/cloth/textiles
furnishing/curtain/dress fabric/material
Example Bank:
•A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material.
•He was convicted of importing indecent material.
•He's collecting material for a new book on space travel.
•Higher raw material costs have pushed up the price of many manufactured goods.
•I can't find any relevant material on him in the library.
•Many of the original materials were reused in the restoration of the building.
•Prisoners were not allowed writing materials.
•The DVD includes some great supplementary material.
•The artificial turf is laid onto a rubber composite material.
•The collection includes objects and printed material.
•The corn contains genetically modified material.
•The letter were used as source material in this new biography.
•The library has a wealth of old photographs and other archival material.
•The magazine contains not one bit of original material.
•This is not really suitable reading material for a young child.
•This new biography contains a wealth of previously unpublished material.
•We have 98% of the same genetic material as chimpanzees.
•a storeroom full of building materials
•original material on the First World War
•the decomposition of dead organic material such as vegetation
•useful material for a documentary
•Many household cleaning materials are highly toxic.
•Oil is the raw material for plastic.
•She's collecting material for her next novel.
•There were bricks, sand and other building materials in the courtyard.
•This catalogue lists the latest training materials available.
•Toxic chemicals and other materials have been found.
•We usually produce our own teaching material.
•You have to buy your own art materials.
•You'll need a piece of material about 20 cm square.
Derived Word: ↑materially
adjective
1. only before noun connected with money, possessions, etc. rather than with the needs of the mind or spirit
•material comforts
•changes in your material circumstances
Opp: ↑spiritual
2. only before noun connected with the physical world rather than with the mind or spirit
•the material world
Opp: ↑immaterial
3. (formal or law)important and needing to be considered
•material evidence
•~ to sth She omitted information that was material to the case.
see also ↑immaterial
Word Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘relating to matter’): from late Latin materialis, adjective from Latin materia ‘matter’.
Example Bank:
•We must allow all material considerations to be taken into account.
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