material (adj.)

  1. derived from or composed of matter; the material universe'

  2. 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'

  3. having material or physical form or substance; that which is created is of necessity corporeal and visible and tangible - Benjamin Jowett

    [ Syn: corporeal ]

  4. 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

    [ Syn: substantial , real ]

    material (n.)

  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

    [ Syn: 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

    [ Syn: fabric , cloth , 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 (adj.)

  1. concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests; material possessions; material wealth; material comforts'

  2. 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

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.