Definition of "material" in inglés

adjective

1. Of, relating to, or consisting of matter, especially physical.

   • This compound has a number of interesting material properties.

2. Of, relating to, or affecting physical well-being; corporeal; bodily.

   • material needs

3. (logic) Of or relating to the matter of reasoning, as distinguished from the form of it, especially empirical.

   • material cause
   • the material aspect of being

4. (especially law) Having real importance or great consequences; significant; substantial.

   • found a material difference between two things
   • You've made several material contributions to this project.
   • This is the most material fact in this lawsuit.

5. Relating to or concerned with what is purely physical rather than intellectual or spiritual, especially excessively so; materialistic.

   • the material world
   • interested only in material progress
   • Don't let material concerns get in the way of living a happy life.

6. (obsolete) Full of substance or otherwise meaning.

7. (obsolete) In an important degree.

noun

1. A basic matter (as metal, wood, plastic, fiber, etc.) from which the whole or the greater part of something physical (as a machine, tool, building, fabric, etc.) is made.

   • Asphalt, composed of oil and sand, is a widely used material for roads.

2. (sometimes collective, preceded by a qualifying word) A person, or people collectively, who are qualified or suited for a certain position or activity.

   • boy/girlfriend material
   • marriage material
   • We have lots of presidential material in various public offices.

3. (usually plural) Apparatus for doing or making something.

4. Something (as data, observations, perceptions or ideas) that may be incorporated, elaborated or otherwise reworked into a finished form or new form, or may serve as the basis for arriving at interpretations, judgments or conclusions.

   • teaching materials
   • We were a warm-up act at the time; we didn't have enough original material to headline.

5. Cloth to be made into a garment; woven fabric.

   • a piece of material
   • You'll need about a yard of material to make this.

6. The elements, constituents or substance of which something physical or non-physical composed of or can be made of.