immediate constituent
noun Grammar.
one of the usually two largest constituents of a construction: The immediate constituents of He ate his dinner are he and ate his dinner; of ate his dinner are ate and his dinner; etc. Abbreviation: IC
Compare
ultimate constituent.
Origin of immediate constituent
First recorded in 1930–35
Words nearby immediate constituent
immediacy,
immediate,
immediate allergy,
immediate annuity,
immediate auscultation,
immediate constituent,
immediate denture,
immediate flap,
immediate percussion,
immediate reaction,
immediate transfusion
British Dictionary definitions for immediate constituent
immediate constituent
noun
a constituent of a linguistic construction at the first step in an analysis; for example, the immediate constituents of a sentence are the subject and the predicate