element
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehluhmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛləmənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
usually in the plural
A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
chemistry
Any one of the types of atom distinguished by having a certain number of protons in its nucleus.
chemistry
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.
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 small but present amount of a quality, a hint.
verb
To compound (something) out of elements.
To constitute and be the elements of (something).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
Used this way, element is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- chemical element , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Violent or severe weather (viewed as caused by the action of the four elements).
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to of or pertaining to or characteristic of elementary school or elementary education.
Related to an abstract part of something.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A straight line running the length of the cylinder.
A straight line joining the apex and a point on the base.
The component of a heater or range that transforms fuel or electricity into heat.
An operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates.
An electronic device that performs an elementary logic operation.
Any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: basic
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.