An electronic component, also known as an electronic assembly, an electronic device, or a circuit element, is a basic element in an electronic circuit. It is usually packaged individually and has two or more leads or metal contacts. Electronic components must be interconnected to form an electronic circuit with a specific function, such as an amplifier, a radio receiver, an oscillator, etc. One of the common ways to connect electronic components is to solder them to a printed circuit board.

Electronic components may be individually packaged, called discrete components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, diodes, etc.); or multiple electronic components and circuits may be manufactured in a concentrated and miniaturized manner on the surface of a semiconductor wafer to form groups of varying complexity, called integrated circuits (operational amplifiers, resistor arrays, logic gates, etc.).

To maintain the stability of electronic components, they are often encapsulated with a resin coating to improve insulation and protect them from the environment.
Components may be passive or active:
Passive components are electronic components that do not have any gain or directionality when used.  In network analysis, they are called electrical elements.
Active components are electronic components that have gain or directionality when used, which passive components do not have. They include semiconductor devices and vacuum tubes.