material: meaning and definitions

The substance or substances out of which a thing is or can be made.

Something, such as an idea or information, that is to be refined and made or incorporated into a finished effort: material for a comedy.

Tools or apparatus for the performance of a given task: writing materials.

Yard goods or cloth.

A person who is qualified or suited for a position or activity: The members of the board felt that she was vice-presidential material.

Of, relating to, or composed of matter.

Of, relating to, or affecting physical well-being; bodily: "the moral and material welfare of all good citizens” ( Theodore Roosevelt).

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).

Being both relevant and consequential; crucial: testimony material to the inquiry. See Synonyms at relevant.

Philosophy Of or relating to the matter of reasoning, rather than the form.