Meaning & Definition of Component in English

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"

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"

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"