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say it: muh-TIR-ee-uhl
material is an adjective and noun meaning "concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests". It carries 11 recorded senses.
concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests
“material possessions”
“material wealth”
“material comforts”
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”
concerned with or affecting physical as distinct from intellectual or psychological well-being
“material needs”
“the moral and material welfare of all good citizens”
having material or physical form or substance
“that which is created is of necessity corporeal and visible and tangible”
having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary
“the substantial world”
“a mere dream, neither substantial nor practical”
“The wind was violent and felt substantial enough to lean against”
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”
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”
a person judged suitable for admission or employment
“he was university material”
“she was vice-presidential material”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for material come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.