material

noun

• 1the matter from which a thing is or can be made:goats can eat more or less any plant material [count noun]:highly flammable materials
• (materials) things needed for an activity:cleaning materials
• [with adjective or noun modifier] a person of a specified quality or suitability:he’s not really Olympic material

• 2information or ideas for use in creating a book or other work:his colonial experiences gave him material
• items, such as songs or jokes, comprising a performer’s act:a watchable band playing original material

• 3cloth or fabric:a piece of dark material [count noun]:dress materials

adjective

• 1 [attributive] denoting or consisting of physical objects rather than the mind or spirit:the material world
• concerned with money or possessions rather than the needs of the mind or spirit:material living standards have risen
• concerned with the matter of reasoning, not its form:political conflict lacks mathematical or material certitude

• 2significant; important:the insects did not do any material damage to the crop
• Law (of evidence or a fact) significant or relevant, especially to the extent of determining a cause or affecting a judgement:information that could be material to a murder inquiry