key component
Vital working part
A key component is an essential part of something larger—one that the whole depends on for proper function.
The phrase appears in technical, organizational, and abstract contexts: Trust is a key component of any healthy relationship, The battery is a key component of the electric vehicle.
Unlike mere parts, key components are critical; remove one and the system fails or falters.
- essentialFundamentally necessary
- crucialOf supreme importance
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
- elementBasic substance or factor
- main ingredientChief culinary element
ingredient · bread and butter · part · moving part · core · fundamental · nuts and bolts · building block · cornerstone · missing piece · piece · factor · linchpin · backbone · foundation · mechanism · cog · puzzle piece
key componentminor detail
Insignificant specific element
nice-to-have · afterthought · window dressing · side issue · frill
component, keyed, keying, keyless, keyboard, keyhole, keystone, components