Longman Dictionary English

Explore Elements Topic
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Related topics: Elements, Earth sciences
elementel‧e‧ment /ˈeləmənt/ ●●● S2 W1 AWL noun [countable] 1 partPART one part or feature of a whole system, plan, piece of work etc, especially one that is basic or importantelement of Honesty is a vital element of her success.element in the primary element in the country’s economyimportant/key/essential/vital etc element Besides ability, the other essential element in political success is luck. Business and management elements are built into the course.2 → element of surprise/truth/risk/doubt etc3 chemistryHCE a simple chemical substance such as carbon or oxygen that consists of atoms of only one kind → compound1(1)4 peopleGROUP OF PEOPLE a group of people who form part of a larger group, especially when the rest of the group does not approve of them → faction the hard-line communist elements in the party5 → the elements6 heatingDFU the part of a piece of electrical equipment that produces heat7 → the elements of something8 earth/air/fire/waterHE one of the four substances (earth, air, fire, and water) from which people used to believe that everything was made9 → be in your element10 → be out of your elementCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesan important elementThis one fact is the most important element of the theory.a major element (=very important)Private study is a major element of the students’ timetable.a key element (=very important and necessary)Trust is a key element in any relationship.a crucial/critical element (=extremely important and necessary)The most crucial element of our economic system is the law of supply and demand.a vital/essential element (=necessary so that something can happen or exist)Her determination is a vital element of her success.the main element (=most important)The reform programme has three main elements.
Examples from the Corpus
element• There's always been an element of competition between me and my brother.• The position that you select is an element of your normative political knowledge-your value judgments.• There is more than just an element of truth in this conception.• The Treaty defined the demarcation of powers between the federation and the constituent republics as a component element of the new Constitution.• The chief had been warned that there were criminal elements within the Security Police.• The committee agreed on the need to get rid of the hooligan element amongst football supporters.• We've reached the stage where public image is the most important element in the Presidency.• I see helping the community as one of the key elements of my work.• The planning proposals have three main elements.• And like enthalpies of formation, the standard free energies of formation of elements in their standard states are zero.• Instead of a single plot, there are several elements in the story.• However, a further ten shared elements show whales to be closely related to hippopotami.• By contrast, it is impossible to align the elements of organization design at the beginning of a period of behavior-driven change.• Vegetables are a vital element of the human diet.• They seem to be trying to get rid of all left-wing elements in the party.important/key/essential/vital etc element• Conspicuous consumption became, for more groups, an important element in leisure culture.• It is an essential element of the primal piety, the archaic spirituality, that pentecostal worship brings to the surface.• Language was an important element in adjustment.• Its key element was a relaxation of the past two years' tight monetary controls in an effort to halt recession.• Off-line training time, then, becomes one of the most important elements in initially selling neural network technology.• So this week we highlight the key elements of a typical mortgage endowment policy statement.• Terry Murphy and his colleagues continued to work hard at getting each of the key elements in their exchange strategy right.• The key element, however, is not the ardor of the reformers.Origin element (1300-1400) Old French Latin elementum
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