component

American  

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

noun

• components
  plural

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

Synonym Usage

See element.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• components
  plural

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

See Examples For:

component components

Wholesalers—the largest component of Canada’s services sector—connect farmers or manufacturers that produce goods with companies and public institutions that use them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

"We take on that cost ourselves," he said, adding that rising prices for oil, a key component in plastic, had also not affected the price of Lego's bricks.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

That dramatic increase allowed the team to demonstrate optoacoustic memory, a key component that could be used in photonic neuromorphic computing inside fibers.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

At Tower 208, a component known as a compression paddle was not securely bonded to the pylon, allowing debris to form and creating a dangerous air pocket, the filing said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

When you break down the things we do every day to their component pieces, you begin to understand how ridiculous they are.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

King Slide Works makes components like cabinet hinges and drawer slides.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Even with the blueprints, Ukraine may find it hard to source components.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Every single Cane’s meal has basically the same components: chicken, fries, toast, sauce, and sometimes coleslaw.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

Those particles later became the components of atomic nuclei and, ultimately, the ordinary matter found in stars, planets and ourselves.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Then Bruno Rossi put him to work experimenting with components of the new plutonium bomb.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

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