material meaning and definition

MATERIAL noun

Definition of material (noun)

1. the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
   • "coal is a hard black material"; "wheat is the stuff they use to make bread"
   • synonyms: stuff
2. information (data or ideas or observations) that can be used or reworked into a finished form
   • "the archives provided rich material for a definitive biography"
3. artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
   • "the fabric in the curtains was light and semitransparent"; "woven cloth originated in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC"; "she measured off enough material for a dress"
   • synonyms: cloth, fabric, textile
4. things needed for doing or making something
   • "writing materials"; "useful teaching materials"
5. a person judged suitable for admission or employment
   • "he was university material"; "she was vice-presidential material"

MATERIAL adjective

Definition of material (adjective)

1. concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests
   • "material possessions"; "material wealth"; "material comforts"
2. derived from or composed of matter
   • "the material universe"
   • antonym: immaterial
3. directly relevant to a matter especially a law case
   • "his support made a material difference"; "evidence material to the issue at hand"; "facts likely to influence the judgment are called material facts"; "a material witness"
   • antonym: immaterial
4. concerned with or affecting physical as distinct from intellectual or psychological well-being
   • "material needs"; "the moral and material welfare of all good citizens"- T.Roosevelt
5. having material or physical form or substance
   • "that which is created is of necessity corporeal and visible and tangible" - Benjamin Jowett
   • synonyms: corporeal
   • antonym: immaterial
6. having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary
   • "the substantial world"; "a mere dream, neither substantial nor practical"; "most ponderous and substantial things"- Shakespeare
   • synonyms: real, substantial
   • antonym: insubstantial