Sekirov Dictionary

element

UK /ˈɛlɪmənt/US /ˈɛləmənt/

noun 23
verb 2
forms 3
phrases 2

noun23

•
one of the basic parts that a whole thing or an idea is formed from
- Letters are the elements of written language.
•
One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air.
- The she asked the elements to send their spirits to her. — 1965
•
[usually plural] A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
- Thus shall my heart be stil combinde with thine, Untill our bodies turne to Elements: And both our soules aspire celestiall thrones. — 1587
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.
Any of the teeth of a zip fastener.
•
[in the plural] The basic principles of a field of knowledge, basics, fundamentals, rudiments.
- Miniature Nuremberg kitchens complete with all the utensils were said to teach children the elements of housewifery. — 1971
A small part of the whole.
•
A small but present amount of a quality, a hint.
- The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff. — 1927
•
Any one of the types of atom distinguished by having a certain number of protons in its nucleus.
- Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. It is the simplest possible atom composed of one proton in the nucleus which is orbited by a single electron. — 2013
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.
[in the plural] Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.
A place or state of being that a person or object is best suited to.
•
A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic.
- You sometimes find the hooligan element at football matches.
A factor, one of the conditions contributing to a result.
•
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.
- The element in this electric kettle can heat the water in under a minute.
One of the objects in a set.
One of the entries of a matrix.
•
One of the conceptual objects in a markup language, usually represented in text by tags.
- The div element was introduced into HTML as a solution to the layout problem. — 2011
[usually plural] The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.
•
An infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential.
- The element of area in Cartesian coordinates is dx dy.
An orbital element; one of the parameters needed to uniquely specify a particular orbit.
•
(no longer used) The sky.
- Sometimes, solitude is of all things my wish; and the awful silence of the night, the spangled element, and the rising and setting sun, how promotive of contemplation! — 1748
(no longer used) Any one of the heavenly spheres believed to carry the celestial bodies in premodern cosmology.

verb2

•
(no longer used) To compound (something) out of elements.
- Dull sublunary lovers love / (VVhose soule is sense) cannot admit / Absence, because it doth remove / Those things vvhich elemented it. — 1611
•
(no longer used) To constitute and be the elements of (something).
- His very soul was elemented of nothing but sadness. — 1658

forms

elemented · elementing · elements

Phrases with element

This dictionary works without the internet: on your phone · in Chrome