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
W. Jay DeVecchioWhen a violinist bows a string to make a high C note, the sound actually contains many individual subcomponents called harmonics.—Dragan Huterer
Dragan HutererExamples of subcomponent in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The funding goes to 10 subcomponents in the agency, but the vast majority of it goes to just one: the Office of Federal Student Aid, which received $179.65 billion in FY 2024.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
The report shall discuss whether the agency or any of its subcomponents should be eliminated or consolidated.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
Currently testing reactor subcomponents; successful prototype in 2015 could lead to commercial reactor in 2020.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Nov. 2014
To reach the overall fitness standard, students must reach the fitness standard for all four subcomponents.
—Evan Gorelick, Hartford Courant, 22 Jan. 2024
Students taking the fitness assessment are evaluated across four subcomponents: upper body strength and endurance, abdominal muscle strength and endurance, aerobic endurance and flexibility.
—Evan Gorelick, Hartford Courant, 22 Jan. 2024
The Export-Import Bank of the United States was at the bottom of the small agencies category while the Federal Bureau of Prisons, with a score of 38.1 out 100, was at the bottom of the subcomponents list.
—Rebecca Santana, Fortune, 20 May 2024
There was, however, a year-over-year decrease in all of the subcomponents of job satisfaction compared for both men and women.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 6 May 2024
None of the nine subcomponents of Valley National Bank’s $28.2 billion commercial real estate portfolio account for more than 25% of it.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
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Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
The report shall discuss whether the agency or any of its subcomponents should be eliminated or consolidated.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
Currently testing reactor subcomponents; successful prototype in 2015 could lead to commercial reactor in 2020.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Nov. 2014
To reach the overall fitness standard, students must reach the fitness standard for all four subcomponents.
—Evan Gorelick, Hartford Courant, 22 Jan. 2024
Students taking the fitness assessment are evaluated across four subcomponents: upper body strength and endurance, abdominal muscle strength and endurance, aerobic endurance and flexibility.
—Evan Gorelick, Hartford Courant, 22 Jan. 2024
The Export-Import Bank of the United States was at the bottom of the small agencies category while the Federal Bureau of Prisons, with a score of 38.1 out 100, was at the bottom of the subcomponents list.
—Rebecca Santana, Fortune, 20 May 2024
There was, however, a year-over-year decrease in all of the subcomponents of job satisfaction compared for both men and women.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 6 May 2024
None of the nine subcomponents of Valley National Bank’s $28.2 billion commercial real estate portfolio account for more than 25% of it.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Subcomponent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subcomponent. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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