material
Material meaning: a substance used to make something; this eight-letter word scores 10 Scrabble points and has two one-letter neighbours.
Adjective 4 meanings
Of, relating to, or consisting of matter, especially physical.
“This compound has a number of interesting material properties.”
Of, relating to, or affecting physical well-being; corporeal; bodily.
“material needs”
Of or relating to the matter of reasoning, as distinguished from the form of it, especially empirical.
“material cause”
Having real importance or great consequences; significant; substantial.
“found a material difference between two things”
Noun 4 meanings
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.”
A person, or people collectively, who are qualified or suited for a certain position or activity.
“boy/girlfriend material”
Apparatus for doing or making something.
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”
Etymology
From Middle English material, from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”). Displaced native Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”) (from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”)). Doublet of materiel.
Similar and opposite words
Material is a common word for the substance from which an object is made, such as wood, metal, or fabric. It also describes people suited to a role, equipment used for a task, or information that can be developed into a finished work. Those distinct senses make it useful well beyond conversations about physical objects.
Material meaning at a glance
- MATERIAL has eight letters and a base Scrabble value of 10 points.
- M is worth 3 points; A, T, E, R, I, A, and L each add 1.
- No anagrams are recorded, but MATERNAL and MATERIEL are one-letter neighbours.
- Its 12 rhymes include SOCIAL, SPECIAL, and TRIAL, all sharing the -ial ending.
What does material mean?
Material means the matter from which something is made, or the substance that forms most of a physical object. Wood in a chair, metal in a tool, and fiber in cloth are all material in this sense. The word can refer to a single substance or to the broader matter used in making something.
The meaning also shifts beyond physical stuff. A person may be described as material for a position, while teaching material means resources used for instruction. In writing or research, material can mean the ideas someone reshapes into a finished piece, and context tells you which sense is meant.
How does material score and connect to other words?
MATERIAL totals 10 Scrabble points before board bonuses. Its M supplies 3 points, and the other seven tiles are worth 1 each. That makes the M the tile to protect or place on a premium square; the repeated A still contributes only its own 1 point.
Changing one letter gives MATERNAL or MATERIEL, the two one-letter neighbours. The rhyme set is much larger: its 12 matches include SOCIAL, SPECIAL, OFFICIAL, and TRIAL. The shared written ending is -ial, though the words differ in meaning and length.
The limitation is that MATERIAL has no anagrams, so rearranging its letters will not produce another entry in this set. For competitive play, check your game's word list rather than assuming every dictionary uses the same accepted vocabulary. For more eight-letter clues, browse the linked lists or use the Finder.
Rhymes with material
All rhymesOne letter away
- MATERNAL10
- MATERIEL10
Questions people ask
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