subcomponent

noun

sub·​com·​po·​nent ˌsəb-kəm-ˈpō-nənt 

-ˈkäm-ˌpō-, 

-käm-ˈpō-

variants or sub-component

plural subcomponents or sub-components

: a component that is part of a larger component

But what does a contractor actually have to do to assure its representations are correct? It has to know when the thing was developed and who paid for it; and it must know the answer to those questions at the lowest segregable component level—meaning subcomponents for hardware and subroutines for software.

—W. Jay DeVecchio

When a violinist bows a string to make a high C note, the sound actually contains many individual subcomponents called harmonics.

—Dragan Huterer

Examples of subcomponent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Limited production capacity The topline number of Patriot missiles -- sophisticated devices with a number of subcomponents -- is also capped by limited production capacity down the supply chain. — Elise Spenner, ABC News, 9 July 2026

Its top chips, made by TSMC in Taiwan, require extreme ultraviolet lithography machines from the Netherlands’ ASML, which relies on German and Japanese subcomponents. — Jared Cohen, Time, 18 Feb. 2026

It is designed to replicate the extreme heat flux present in fusion devices, targeting a steady-state heat load of more than 10 megawatts per square meter on subcomponent surfaces. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2026

The most common flaw was the poor quality of electronic subcomponents, specifically circuits. — Dara Massicot, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for subcomponent

• component
• deponent
• exponent
• opponent
• proponent
• multicomponent
• ponent