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natural resource

/ˈnætrəl ˈrisɔrs/

/ˈnætərəl ˈrɪzɔs/

Other forms: natural resources

What do sunlight, water, limestone, and bamboo have in common? They're all natural resources, or useful materials that exist in the environment.

Any resource that exists in the natural world — like wood from trees, edible plants found in the forest, or freshwater from a stream — is a natural resource. Some resources, like sunlight, are renewable resources, meaning that they can't be used up. Others, like fossil fuels and deposits of precious metals found in ores, are nonrenewable, meaning that they will one day be used up and can't be replenished.

Definitions of natural resource
  1. noun
    resources (actual and potential) supplied by nature
    synonyms: natural resources
    see moresee less
    types:
    land resources
    natural resources in the form of arable land
    mineral resources
    natural resources in the form of minerals
    renewable resource
    any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished naturally with the passage of time
    type of:
    resource
    available source of wealth; a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
Pronunciation
US

/ˈnætrəl ˈrisɔrs/

UK

/ˈnætərəl ˈrɪzɔs/

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