component

[ kuhm-poh-nuhnt, kom- ]

noun

1. a constituent part; element; ingredient.
2. a part of a mechanical or electrical system:

   They checked the pads, rotors, and other components of my car's brake system.

3. Physics. the projection of a vector quantity, as force or velocity, along an axis.
4. Physical Chemistry. one of the set of the minimum number of chemical constituents by which every phase of a given system can be described.
5. Mathematics.
   1. a connected subset of a set, not contained in any other connected subset of the set.
   2. a coordinate of a vector.
6. Linguistics.
   1. one of the major subdivisions of a generative grammar: Compare level ( def 17 ).

      base component;

      transformational component;

      semantic component;

      phonological component.

   2. a feature determined by componential analysis.

adjective

1. being or serving as an element (in something larger); composing; constituent:

   the component parts of a computer system.

component

/ kəmˈpəʊnənt; ˌkɒmpəˈnɛnʃəl /

noun

1. a constituent part or aspect of something more complex

   a component of a car

2. Also calledelement any electrical device, such as a resistor, that has distinct electrical characteristics and that may be connected to other electrical devices to form a circuit
3. maths
   1. one of a set of two or more vectors whose resultant is a given vector
   2. the projection of this given vector onto a specified line
4. one of the minimum number of chemically distinct constituents necessary to describe fully the composition of each phase in a system See phase rule

adjective

1. forming or functioning as a part or aspect; constituent

Derived Forms

• componential, adjective

Other Words From

• com·po·nen·tial [kom-p, uh, -, nen, -sh, uh, l], compo·nental adjective
• com·ponent·ed adjective
• subcom·ponent noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of component¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin compōnent- (stem of compōnēns, present participle of compōnere “to put together”), equivalent to com- com- + pōn(ere) “to put” + -ent- -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of component¹

C17: from Latin compōnere to put together, from pōnere to place, put

Synonym Study

See element.

Example Sentences

Another big component of housing is supply — the lack of which economists tend to single out as the main culprit driving rents and home prices higher.

From Los Angeles Times

But researchers are now saying products made from recycled black plastic contain even more toxic components.

From Los Angeles Times

Manufacturing quality control of components, as well, often hinges on extremely small distances that can mean the difference between a perfect part and a tiny defect that could eventually cause a dangerous mechanical failure.

From Science Daily

As for his appeal to traditionalist Christians, Dr Jones argues that there has been a faith component to the idea of “Making America Great Again”, with the promise of restoring the country's Christian character.

From BBC

They are also an important component of our transition to renewable energy, as they are used to store excess solar and wind energy and send it back into the power grid on demand.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• factor
• ingredient
• item
• peripheral
• piece
• segment
• unit