element

Meanings

Plural: elements

Noun

• an abstract part of something
  • "the grammatical elements of a sentence"
• an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system
  • "a component or constituent element of a system"
• any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter
• the most favorable environment for a plant or animal
  • "water is the element of fishes"
• one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe
  • "the alchemists believed that there were four elements"
• the situation in which you are happiest and most effective
  • "in your element"
• a straight line that generates a cylinder or cone
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• Any one of the types of atom distinguished by having a certain number of protons in its nucleus.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• A chemical substance made entirely of one such type of atom; any one of the simplest chemical substances that cannot be decomposed in a chemical reaction or by any chemical means and made up of atoms all having the same number of protons.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• A required aspect or component of a cause of action. A deed is regarded as a violation of law only if each element can be proved.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• One of the objects in a set.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• One of the entries of a matrix.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• Any of the teeth of a zip fastener.
• One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
• A small part of the whole.
• A small but present amount of a quality, a hint.
• A factor, one of the conditions contributing to a result.
• The sky.
• Any one of the heavenly spheres believed to carry the celestial bodies in premodern cosmology.
• Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.
• A place or state of being that a person or object is best suited to.
• The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.
• A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic.
• The basic principles of a field of knowledge, basics, fundamentals, rudiments.
• A component in electrical equipment, often in the form of a coil, having a high resistance, thereby generating heat when a current is passed through it.
• An infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential.
• An orbital element; one of the parameters needed to uniquely specify a particular orbit.
• One of the conceptual objects in a markup language, usually represented in text by tags.

Verb

• To compound (something) out of elements.
• To constitute and be the elements of (something).

Synonyms

chemical element, component, constituent, elementary substance, factor, ingredient, member

Related Words

atom, elemental, elementary, transelement