materials
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ma·te·ri·al
(mə-tîr′ē-əl)n.
1. The substance or substances out of which a thing is or can be made.
2. Something, such as an idea or information, that is to be refined and made or incorporated into a finished effort: material for a comedy.
3. materials Tools or apparatus for the performance of a given task: writing materials.
4. Yard goods or cloth.
5. A person who is qualified or suited for a position or activity: The members of the board felt that she was vice-presidential material.
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or composed of matter.
2. Of, relating to, or affecting physical well-being; bodily: "the moral and material welfare of all good citizens" (Theodore Roosevelt).
3. Of or concerned with the physical as distinct from the intellectual or spiritual: "Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
4. Being both relevant and consequential; crucial: testimony material to the inquiry. See Synonyms at relevant.
5. Philosophy Of or relating to the matter of reasoning, rather than the form.
[Middle English, consisting of matter, material, from Old French, from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria, matter; see māter- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
materials
(məˈtɪərɪəlz)pl n
the equipment necessary for a particular activity
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
materials
- taboret - An artist's multi-drawer cabinet table for tools and materials.
- compendium - Latin for "that which is weighed together," it is a complete summary or abridgment or a concise collection of materials—not an all-encompassing or comprehensive work (plural is compendiums or compendia).
- hygroscopic - Describing the ability or tendency of a material to take up moisture readily from the surrounding air or other moist materials.
- molecular gastronomy - The study and application of chemistry, physics, and other scientific principles on cooking processes, preparation, and materials.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.