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material

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ma⋅te⋅ri⋅al

  [muh-teer-ee-uhl]
Use material in a Sentence
–noun
1. the substance or substances of which a thing is made or composed: Stone is a durable material.
2. anything that serves as crude or raw matter to be used or developed: Wood pulp is the raw material from which paper is made.
3. any constituent element.
4. a textile fabric: material for a dress.
5. 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.
6. materials, the articles or apparatus needed to make or do something: writing materials.
7. 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
8. formed or consisting of matter; physical; corporeal: the material world.
9. relating to, concerned with, or involving matter: material forces.
10. pertaining to the physical rather than the spiritual or intellectual aspect of things: material comforts.
11. pertaining to or characterized by an undue interest in corporeal things; unspiritual.
12. of substantial import; of much consequence; important: Your support will make a material difference in the success of our program.
13. pertinent or essential (usually fol. by to): a question not material to the subject at hand.
14. Law. likely to influence the determination of a case: material evidence.
15. Philosophy. of or pertaining to matter as distinguished from form.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < LL māteriālis of, belonging to matter. See matter, -al 1

Related forms:
ma⋅te⋅ri⋅al⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. See matter. 12. essential, vital.

Antonyms:
8. incorporeal. 12. unimportant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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.]
ma·te'ri·al·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

material 
c.1386 (adj.) "pertaining to matter," a term in scholastic philosophy and theology, from L.L. materialis (adj.) "of or belonging to matter," from L. materia "matter, stuff, wood, timber" (see matter). The noun is attested from 1556. Materialism is 1748 as a philosophy that nothing exists except matter (from Fr.); 1851 (in Hawthorne) as "a way of life based entirely on consumer goods." Materialize "appear in bodily form" dates from 1880, from spiritualism.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

material

Of sufficient importance or relevance as to have possible significant influence on an outcome. For example, the possibility that a firm might lose its right to operate a number of television stations because competitors have filed with the Federal Communications Commission for those licenses would be a material fact in preparing the firm's financial statements. Compare immaterial.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ma·te·ri·al
Pronunciation: m&-'tir-E-&l
Function: adjective
1 : of, relating to, or consisting of physical matter
2 : being of real importance or consequence
3 : being an essential component material terms of the contract>
4 : being relevant to a subject under consideration; specifically : being such as would affect or be taken into consideration by a reasonable person in acting or making a decision —see also INSIDER TRADING —ma·te·ri·al·i·ty /m&-"tir-E-'a-l&-tE/ noun —ma·te·ri·al·ly adverb

Main Entry: material
Function: noun
: something used for or made the object of consideration or study; specifically : EVIDENCE —see also BRADY MATERIAL
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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