Element definition
He is in his element when traveling. The business world is her element.
Outside paint that had been damaged by the elements.
An example of an element is the fire that cooks the food on a gas range stove.
An example of an element is a neighborhood; living in your element.
A good story has an element of suspense.
The criminal element in a city.
Letters are the elements of written language.
An element of doubt.
An element of the picture.
Be in one's own element.
You sometimes find the hooligan element at football matches.
The element in this electric kettle can heat the water in under a minute.
The dissident element on campus.
- A ground unit in an air force comparable to a platoon.
- A unit of an air force equal to two or three aircraft.
- the first or basic principles; rudiments
- wind, rain, and the other forces of nature that make the weather
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of element
- Middle English from Old French from Latin elementum perhaps ultimately from lmn first three letters of the second half of the Canaanite alphabet, recited by ancient scribes when learning it
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English element, from Old French element, from Latin elementum (“a first principle, element, rudiment”); origin uncertain. Perhaps ultimately from L M N, first three letters of the second half of the Canaanite alphabet, recited by ancient scribes when learning it (in sense compare English ABC(s) (“fundamentals”)).
From Wiktionary