Element vs. Material — What's the Difference?

A fundamental, essential, or irreducible constituent of a composite entity.

A material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter.

Elements The basic assumptions or principles of a subject.

The substance or substances out of which a thing is or can be made.

A member of a set.

Something, such as an idea or information, that is to be refined and made or incorporated into a finished effort

A point, line, or plane.

Materials Tools or apparatus for the performance of a given task

A part of a geometric configuration, such as an angle in a triangle.

Yard goods or cloth.

The generatrix of a geometric figure.

A person who is qualified or suited for a position or activity

Any of the terms in the rectangular array of terms that constitute a matrix or determinant.

Of, relating to, or composed of matter.

Chemistry & Physics A substance composed of atoms having an identical number of protons in each nucleus. Elements cannot be reduced to simpler substances by normal chemical means. See Periodic Table.

Of, relating to, or affecting physical well-being; bodily

One of four substances, earth, air, fire, or water, formerly regarded as a fundamental constituent of the universe.

Of or concerned with the physical as distinct from the intellectual or spiritual

(Electricity)The resistance wire in an electrical appliance such as a heater or an oven.

Being both relevant and consequential; crucial

Elements The forces that constitute the weather, especially severe or inclement weather:outside paint that had been damaged by the elements.

(Philosophy) Of or relating to the matter of reasoning, rather than the form.

An environment naturally suited to or associated with an individual:He is in his element when traveling. The business world is her element.

Having to do with matter; consisting of matter.

A distinct group within a larger community:the dissident element on campus.

Worldly, as opposed to spiritual.

A ground unit in an air force comparable to a platoon.

Significant.

A unit of an air force equal to two or three aircraft.

Matter which may be shaped or manipulated, particularly in making something.

Elements The bread and wine of the Eucharist.

Text written for a specific purpose.

One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.

A sample or specimens for study.

(chemistry) Any one of the simplest chemical substances that cannot be decomposed in a chemical reaction or by any chemical means and made up of atoms all having the same number of protons.

Cloth to be made into a garment. Fabric.

One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air.

A person, or people collectively, who are qualified for a certain position or activity.

A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.

Related data of various kinds, especially if collected as the basis for a document or book.

(legal) A required aspect or component of a cause of action. A deed is regarded as a violation of law only if each element can be proved.

The substance that something is made or composed of.

(set theory) One of the objects in a set.

(chess) All of a player's pieces and pawns on the chessboard.

(mathematics) One of the entries of a matrix.

To form from matter; to materialize.

Any of the teeth of a zip fastener.

Consisting of matter; not spiritual; corporeal; physical; as, material substance or bodies.

A small part of the whole.

Pertaining to, or affecting, the physical nature of man, as distinguished from the mental or moral nature; relating to the bodily wants, interests, and comforts; as, material well-being; material comforts.

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

Of solid or weighty character; not insubstantial; of consequence; not be dispensed with; important; significant.

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

Pertaining to the matter, as opposed to the form, of a thing. See Matter.

(obsolete) The sky.

The substance or matter of which anything is made or may be made.

(obsolete) Any one of the heavenly spheres believed to carry the celestial bodies.

To form from matter; to materialize.

Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.

The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object;

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

Information (data or ideas or observations) that can be used or reworked into a finished form;

The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.

Things needed for doing or making something;

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

Artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers;

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

A person judged suitable for admission or employment;

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.

Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests;

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

Derived from or composed of matter;

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

Directly relevant to a matter especially a law case;

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

Concerned with or affecting physical as distinct from intellectual or psychological well-being;

(obsolete) To compound of elements.

Having material or physical form or substance;

(obsolete) To constitute and be the elements of.

Having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary;

One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.

One of the ultimate, undecomposable constituents of any kind of matter. Specifically: (Chem.) A substance which cannot be decomposed into different kinds of matter by any means at present employed; as, the elements of water are oxygen and hydrogen.

One of the ultimate parts which are variously combined in anything; as, letters are the elements of written language; hence, also, a simple portion of that which is complex, as a shaft, lever, wheel, or any simple part in a machine; one of the essential ingredients of any mixture; a constituent part; as, quartz, feldspar, and mica are the elements of granite.

One out of several parts combined in a system of aggregation, when each is of the nature of the whole; as, a single cell is an element of the honeycomb.

One of the simplest essential parts, more commonly called cells, of which animal and vegetable organisms, or their tissues and organs, are composed.

An infinitesimal part of anything of the same nature as the entire magnitude considered; as, in a solid an element may be the infinitesimal portion between any two planes that are separated an indefinitely small distance. In the calculus, element is sometimes used as synonymous with differential.

One of the necessary data or values upon which a system of calculations depends, or general conclusions are based; as, the elements of a planet's orbit.

The simplest or fundamental principles of any system in philosophy, science, or art; rudiments; as, the elements of geometry, or of music.

Any outline or sketch, regarded as containing the fundamental ideas or features of the thing in question; as, the elements of a plan.

One of the simple substances, as supposed by the ancient philosophers; one of the imaginary principles of matter.

The conditions and movements of the air.

The whole material composing the world.

The bread and wine used in the eucharist or Lord's supper.

To compound of elements or first principles.

To constitute; to make up with elements.

An abstract part of something;

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

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;

One of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe;

The most favorable environment for a plant or animal;

The situation in which you are happiest and most effective;

A straight line that generates a cylinder or cone