User Contributed Dictionary
Pronunciation
Noun
materialsDerived terms
Extensive Definition
Materials are physical substances used as inputs
to
production or manufacturing. Raw
materials are first extracted or harvested from the earth and
divided into a form that can be easily transported and stored, then
processed to produce semi-finished materials. These can be input
into a new cycle of production and finishing processes to create
finished materials, ready for distribution
and consumption.
An example of a raw material is cotton, which can be processed
into thread, which can then be woven into cloth, a semi-finished material.
Cutting and sewing the fabric turns it into a garment, which is a finished
material. Steelmaking is
another example—raw materials are mined, refined and
processed into steel, a
semi-finished material. Steel is then used as an input in many
other industries to make finished products.
materials in Catalan: Material
materials in Danish: Materiale
materials in German: Material
materials in Estonian: Materjal
materials in Spanish: Material
materials in French: Matériau
materials in Indonesian: Bahan
materials in Icelandic: Efni
materials in Italian: Materiale
materials in Lithuanian: Medžiaga
(apskaita)
materials in Dutch: Materiaal
materials in Norwegian: Materiale
materials in Polish: Materiał
materials in Simple English: Material
materials in Slovenian: Material
materials in Finnish: Materiaali
materials in Swedish: Material
materials in Thai: วัสดุ
materials in Vietnamese: Vật liệu
materials in Ukrainian: Матеріал
materials in Yiddish: שטאף
materials in Chinese: 材料