component (n.)

  1. an abstract part of something; jealousy was a component of his character; two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony; the grammatical elements of a sentence; a key factor in her success; humor: an effective ingredient of a speech

    [ Syn: constituent , element , factor , ingredient ]

  2. something determined in relation to something that includes it; he wanted to feel a part of something bigger than himself; I read a portion of the manuscript; the smaller component is hard to reach; the animal constituent of plankton

    [ Syn: part , portion , component part , constituent ]

  3. 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; spare components for cars; a component or constituent element of a system

    [ Syn: constituent , element ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
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