(physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element | an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system |
(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything | an abstract part of something |
| the most favorable environment for a plant or animal |
| a straight line that generates a cylinder or cone |
| the situation in which you are happiest and most effective |
| any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter |
| one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe |