essential element

British  

noun

1. biochem any chemical element required by an organism for healthy growth. It may be required in large amounts (macronutrient) or in very small amounts (trace element) See also macronutrient trace element

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Example Sentences

Petroleum is an essential element in modern industry, whether used as a fuel, a lubricant or an ingredient in plastics and chemicals.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

But if you say you’re fighting a war on behalf of a country’s oppressed people, it’s a good idea—in fact, it is an essential element of the war strategy—to think about this problem.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026

An ancient string instrument evolved into the flat-top acoustic guitar—an essential element in American folk, blues and rock.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

That essential element of his identity is presented as merely neutral fact, rather than the alienating circumstance it no doubt was.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2024

For decades, his father had felt that in order to make it in America it was necessary to conceal an essential element of his identity from his friends, his neighbors, and even his own children.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown