building block vs component

building block

noun
  • A component that is part of a larger system. 

  • A block made of wood or plastic that is used as a children's toy and can be stacked or joined to form a larger structure. 

  • A component that is part of a larger construction, such as a brick or a stone. 

component

noun
  • A smaller, self-contained part of a larger entity. Often refers to a manufactured object that is part of a larger device. 

adj
  • Made up of smaller complete units in combination; as a component stereo. 

  • Making up a larger whole; as a component word. 

How often have the words building block and component occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )