constituent

American  

[kuhn-stich-oo-uhnt] / kənˈstɪtʃ u ənt /

adjective

1. serving to compose or make up a thing; component.

   the constituent parts of a motor.

2. having power to frame or alter a political constitution or fundamental law, as distinguished from lawmaking power.

   a constituent assembly.

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noun

1. an element, material, etc. that is part of something else; component.

2. a person who authorizes another to act on their behalf, such as a voter in a district represented by an elected official.

3. Grammar. an element considered as part of a construction.

constituent British  

/ kənˈstɪtjʊənt /

adjective

1. forming part of a whole; component

2. having the power to frame a constitution or to constitute a government (esp in the phrases constituent assembly, constituent power )

3. rare electing or having the power to elect

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noun

1. a component part; ingredient

2. a resident of a constituency, esp one entitled to vote

3. law a person who appoints another to act for him, as by power of attorney

4. linguistics a word, phrase, or clause forming a part of a larger construction Compare immediate constituent ultimate constituent

Related Words

See element.

Other Word Forms

• constituently
  adverb
• nonconstituent
  adjective
• preconstituent
  noun

Etymology

Origin of constituent

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin constituent- (stem of constituēns, present participle of constituere “to set up, found, constitute),” equivalent to con- con- + -stitu- (combining form of statuere “to set up”) + -ent- -ent

Explanation

Constituent means "part of a whole." The word comes up often in political contexts: constituents are the people politicians have been elected to represent. Elected officials should stay in touch with the needs of their constituents. To understand constituent, look at constitute, which means "to make up." The words share the Latin root constituentem, meaning "to compose," as in a part that makes up a larger whole. A politician's electorate is made of individual constituent voters. Although it’s often used to refer to voters, you can also say that a car motor, for example, is made of constituent parts. Constituent can be a noun or adjective.

Example Sentences

Barri Worth Girvan: She has been the district director for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath for the last three years, overseeing constituent services in the Valley and on the Westside.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

As the name implies, equal weighting gives each index constituent the same allocation, instead of ranking by market cap.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Nasdaq said updates aren’t expected to impact constituent or weighting changes until the next index rebalancing, scheduled for June 22.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

DHS was and is less than the sum of its constituent parts.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

“Life...is a chemical incident,” Paul Ehrlich, the chemist, had once said, and biochemists, true to form, had begun to break open cells and characterize the constituent “living chemicals” into classes and functions.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee