One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, including chemical substances, building blocks of matter, basic substances, required aspects in law, objects in a set, entries of a matrix, and teeth of a zip fastener.

A small part of the whole.

A small but present amount of a quality, a hint.

A factor, one of the conditions contributing to a result.

(in the plural only, with "the") Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.

A place or state of being that an individual or object is best suited to.

(Christianity, usually in the plural) The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.

A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic.

(in the plural only) The basic principles of a field of knowledge, basics, fundamentals, rudiments.

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.

(mathematics) An infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential.

(astronomy) An orbital element; one of the parameters needed to uniquely specify a particular orbit.

(computing) One of the conceptual objects in a markup language, usually represented in text by tags.