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| el·e·ment [ élləmənt ] (plural el·e·ments) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. separate part or group: a separate identifiable part of something, or a distinct group within a larger group
  criminal elements in society
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2. small quantity: a small but significant trace of a quality or feeling
There was an element of revenge in what she did.
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3. factor: a cause or factor leading to something
Surprise was the key element in insuring the success of the operation.
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4. habitat: a habitat or environment suited to an individual person
She's in her element in the garden.
Parties are not their natural element.
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5. heating part of appliance: a part of an electric heater, stove, or other appliance that heats up when an electric current is passed through it
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6. chemistry chemically indivisible substance: any substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler one by a chemical reaction. Elements consist of atoms with the same number of protons in their nuclei, and 92 occur naturally on Earth.
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7. chemistry supposed basic unit of matter: any of the four primary substances, earth, air, fire, and water, that were formerly thought to be the materials from which all matter is constructed
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8. mathematics constituent of geometric figure: a point, line, plane, or other part of which a geometric figure is composed
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9. mathematics part of mathematical quantity: a part of a mathematical or geometric quantity, e.g. a number in an array or an angle in a triangle
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10. logic mathematics set member: in mathematics and logic, a member of a set
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11. electricity component of electric circuit: any component of an electric circuit
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12. optics component of optical system: any lens or other component of an optical system
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13. astronomy parameter-defining orbit: any one of the parameters required to define the nature of an orbit and to determine the position of a planetary body within it
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| [14th century. Via French< Latin elementum "rudiment"] |
