Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
composite material

composite material

2 4.4
A strong, light substance made by joining two different materials
  • noun
  • /kəmˈpɒzɪt məˈtɪəriəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : material compuesto
  • Under impact conditions, a composite material can often absorb significantly more energy per unit weight than a metal can.
  • advanced composite material
  • reinforced composite material
  • carbon composite material

So I think that once you can make this repeatably it would be much cheaper than buying off the shelf my Carter or other composite materials.

Examples

  • Advances made in understanding the properties and behavior of composite materials are now powering the exploitation of their immense potential.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Components are produced from composite materials by means of various techniques.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The car body also consists of honeycomb-composite materials that absorb the energy of collision forces.

    Academic text (1993)

  • "The composite material delivers all the qualities you look for in a window," reports Deaner.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Tucker has researched processing polymers and composite materials for more than 20 years.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Engineers are now designing a two-man craft with lightweight, carbon-reinforced composite material to replace the aluminum parts of the previous model.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The engineers used a composite material to ensure the aircraft was both lightweight and strong.

  • The sports car features a body made entirely of composite material to improve performance.

  • The new bridge design incorporates composite materials to enhance durability and reduce weight.

Synonyms

fiberglass
vscomposite material
  • US
32 4.7

A strong, light material made from thin glass threads and hard glue used for boats and buildings

is more general, covering bonded fiber materials beyond this single fiber type
composite
vscomposite material
  • Specialized
18 4.9

A material made from several substances to make it stronger or lighter

is narrower, focusing on chemically bonded fibers for engineering uses

How Strong

composite material
  • Specialized
2 4.4
laminate
11 4.5
plastic
798 1.0

Surface Forms

composite material singular
composite materials plural

Morphology

composite + material

The meaning 'a material made from two or more constituents' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'composite' (made from multiple parts) with 'material' (a substance). This is a regular, compositional noun phrase with clear cross-linguistic equivalents in technical vocabulary, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Composite material: The noun composite material comes from the idea of joining different parts: composite means 'made of parts' and material means the stuff used. Think of a sandwich of fibers and glue—when the parts are joined the result is both 'strong' and 'light', so composite material means a material made from two or more kinds of stuff to be stronger and lighter.