factor — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A doer, maker; a person who does things for another person or organization.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

   Examples

   The factor of the trading post bought the furs.

2. An agent or representative; a reseller or distributor (sometimes with a private label); a consignee.

   Examples

   My factor sends me word, a merchant's fled / That owes me for a hundred tun of wine.

   More examples (2)

   And let such as will number the Kings of Castile and Portugall amongst the warlike and magnanimous conquerors, seeke for some other adherent then my selfe, forsomuch as twelve hundred leagues from their idle residence they have made themselves masters of both Indias, onely by the conduct and direction of their factors, of whom it would be knowne whether they durst but goe and enjoy them in person.

   What does he therefore, but resolvs to give over toyling, and to find himself out som factor, to whose care and credit he may commit the whole managing of his religious affairs; som Divine of note and estimation that must be.

   Motor factors — Good factors will stock all of the more important components which wear out relatively quickly.

3. A commission agent.

4. A person or business organization that provides money for another's new business venture; one who finances another's business.

5. A business organization that lends money on accounts receivable or buys and collects accounts receivable.

6. One of the elements, circumstances, or influences which contribute to produce a result.

   Examples

   The greatest factor in the decision was the need for public transportation.

   The economy was a factor in this year's budget figures.

   More examples (2)

   1864-1898, Herbert Spencer, Principles of Biology the material and dynamical factors of nutrition

   The UN, for its part, has suggested eating insects as a way of feeding those extra mouths, which may put the frankenmeat ick factor in perspective.

7. Any of various objects multiplied together to form some whole.

   Examples

   3 is a factor of 12, as are 2, 4 and 6.

   The factors of the Klein four-group are both cyclic of order 2.

   More examples (2)

   The formula adjusts for region and season by multiplying by a prescribed factor for each.

   The first thousand primes[…]marched in order before him[…]the complete sequence of all those numbers that possessed no factors except themselves and unity.

8. Influence; a phenomenon that affects the nature, the magnitude, and/or the timing of a consequence.

   Examples

   The launch temperature was a factor of the Challenger disaster.

   More examples (1)

   Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.

9. A resource used in the production of goods or services, a factor of production.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them[…]is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.[…]current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate[…]“stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled.

10. A steward or bailiff of an estate.

    Usage

    • Scotland

    Examples

    the factor was so scrupulous, as to keep the whole thing from his master, the lord chamberlain

Verb

1. To find all the factors of (a number or other mathematical object) (the objects that divide it evenly).

   Usage

   • Transitive

2. To rewrite an expression as the product of its factors.

   Usage

   • Transitive

3. To be a product of other objects.

   Usage

   • Intransitive
   • of a number or other mathematical object

4. To sell a debt or debts to an agent (the factor) to collect.

   Usage

   • Transitive

Noun

1. anything that contributes causally to a result

   Broader terms

   cause

   Examples

   a number of factors determined the outcome

2. an abstract part of something

   Synonyms

   componentconstituentelementingredient

   Broader terms

   partsectiondivision

   Examples

   jealousy was a component of his character

   two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony

   More examples (3)

   the grammatical elements of a sentence

   a key factor in her success

   humor: an effective ingredient of a speech

3. one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer

   Synonyms

   divisor

   Broader terms

   integerwhole number

   Examples

   what are the 4 factors of 6?

4. a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission

   Synonyms

   agentbroker

   Broader terms

   businesspersonbourgeois

5. any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together

   Broader terms

   number

6. an independent variable in statistics

   Broader terms

   independent variableexperimental variable

7. (genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity

   Synonyms

   genecistron

   Broader terms

   sequence

   Examples

   genes were formerly called factors

Verb

1. resolve into factors

   Synonyms

   factor infactor out

   Broader terms

   calculateciphercyphercomputework outreckonfigure

   Examples

   a quantum computer can factor the number 15

2. be a contributing factor

   Broader terms

   lendimpartbestowcontributeaddbring

   Examples

   make things factor into a company's profitability

3. consider as relevant when making a decision

   Synonyms

   factor infactor out

   Broader terms

   studyconsider

   Examples

   You must factor in the recent developments