Basic Details
Word: Material
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A substance that things are made from, such as wood or plastic; cloth; also facts and ideas used for writing a book, speech or report.
Synonyms: substance, fabric, cloth, stuff
Word origin: Comes from Latin materia, matter.
How to Spell Material
Syllables: ma - te - ri - al
Tricky part: The middle is ter-i, with e then i, and the ending is al. People often write a for the first e or swap the a and i at the end.
Watch out for: meterial, matirial, materail
Memory tip: Material starts with the word mate. Then come ri and al: mate-ri-al, three pieces you can say and write one at a time.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Cotton is a cool material for summer clothes.
Example 2: Bamboo is a strong building material in the north-east.
Example 3: She collected material for her project from old newspapers.
Fun Fact
Khadi, cloth that is hand-spun and hand-woven, became a symbol of the freedom movement when Gandhi urged Indians to wear it instead of imported mill cloth.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. cottan 2. material 3. syntetic 4. polister
a) a man-made fibre used for clothes and bottles
b) a soft white fibre from a plant, used to make cloth
c) the substance or cloth that something is made from
d) made artificially, not found in nature
Show answer
c) the substance or cloth that something is made from. Cotton ends in on, polyester has a y and e, and synthetic needs an h after t; material is spelt as it should be.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
mat_r_al
a) e, i
b) i, e
c) e, e
d) a, i
Show answer
a) e, i. Ma-te-ri-al: the e comes first, then the i.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to material as used in the sentence:
The tailor laid out three rolls of material and asked which one we wanted for the school uniform.
a) button
b) thread
c) fabric
d) pattern
Show answer
c) fabric. Rolls of material for a uniform are rolls of cloth, which is fabric; thread and buttons are only parts of the job.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is a raw material for making paper?
a) melted glass
b) wood pulp
c) sea salt
d) iron ore
Show answer
b) wood pulp
2. A writer collecting material for a book is gathering ____.
a) pens and printing ink
b) cloth to sell in shops
c) money from the readers
d) facts and ideas to use
Show answer
d) facts and ideas to use
