component

American  

[kuhm-poh-nuhnt, kom-] / kəmˈpoʊ nənt, kɒm- /

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.

      base component;

      transformational component;

      semantic component;

      phonological component.

   2. a feature determined by componential analysis.

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adjective

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

   the component parts of a computer system.

component British  

/ kəmˈpəʊnənt, ˌkɒmpəˈnɛnʃəl /

noun

1. a constituent part or aspect of something more complex

   a component of a car

2. Also called: element.  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

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adjective

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

Related Words

See element.

Other Word Forms

• componental adjective
• componented adjective
• componential adjective
• subcomponent noun

Etymology

Origin of component

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

Explanation

It's the Ikea curse: You spend four hours figuring out how to piece together your new furniture, only to be left with one random component, or part, that doesn't seem to fit anywhere. It's not surprising that component is related to a Latin word that means "to put together." You simply can't put something together without all of the correct components. Technically speaking, a component is an element of a system or a part of a machine. But a component can also be a factor or ingredient, such as the components of a decision or the components of a really good chocolate cake.

Example Sentences

Somnigroup said Monday the deal would continue its vertical integration strategy, enabling closer collaboration between component engineering and mattress design.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

On Monday, shares of Oracle, the software ETF’s second-most-influential component with a weighting of 8.3%, shot up 12.7%, their biggest gain in seven months and enough to lead the S&P 500’s gainers.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

They can recreate the moment again, this time with real postseason stakes, but the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference will be missing a key component from those thrilling wins.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Instead the UK will have a significant new component in its own domestic supply chain.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

They have gone through this cycle at least twice, possibly more—rising to awesome heights, eroding away to nothingness, rising again, each time recycling their component materials in a dazzlingly confused and complex geology.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

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