factor
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to factor: Factor Models
factor-
(word root) maker, doerExamples of words with the root factor-: benefactor
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
fac·tor
(făk′tər)n.
1. One that actively contributes to an accomplishment, result, or process: "Surprise is the greatest factor in war" (Tom Clancy). See Synonyms at element.
2.
a. One who acts for someone else; an agent.
b. One who purchases accounts receivable at a discount.
3. Mathematics One of two or more quantities that divides a given quantity without a remainder. For example, 2 and 3 are factors of 6; a and b are factors of ab.
4. A quantity by which a stated quantity is multiplied or divided, so as to indicate an increase or decrease in a measurement: The rate increased by a factor of ten.
5. A gene. No longer in technical usage.
6. Physiology A substance that functions in a specific biochemical reaction or bodily process, such as blood coagulation.
v. fac·tored, fac·tor·ing, fac·tors
tr.v.
To determine or indicate explicitly the factors of: If you factor 70, you get 2, 5, and 7.
intr.v.
Phrasal Verb: To engage in purchasing accounts receivable at a discount.
factor in
To figure in: factored vacations in when preparing the schedule.
[Middle English factour, perpetrator, agent, from Old French facteur, from Latin factor, maker, from facere, to make; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
fac′tor·a·ble adj.
fac′tor·ship′ n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
factor
(ˈfæktə)n
1. an element or cause that contributes to a result
2. (Mathematics) maths
a. one of two or more integers or polynomials whose product is a given integer or polynomial: 2 and 3 are factors of 6.
b. an integer or polynomial that can be exactly divided into another integer or polynomial: 1, 2, 3, and 6 are all factors of 6.
3. (Medicine) (foll by identifying numeral) med any of several substances that participate in the clotting of blood: factor VIII.
4. (Commerce) a person who acts on another's behalf, esp one who transacts business for another
5. (Banking & Finance) commerce a business that makes loans in return for or on security of trade debts
6. (Genetics) former name for a gene
7. (Law) commercial law a person to whom goods are consigned for sale and who is paid a factorage
8. (Law) (in Scotland) the manager of an estate
vb
(Commerce) (intr) to engage in the business of a factor
[C15: from Latin: one who acts, from facere to do]
ˈfactorable adj
ˌfactoraˈbility n
ˈfactorˌship n
Usage: Factor (sense 1) should only be used to refer to something which contributes to a result. It should not be used to refer to a part of something such as a plan or arrangement; instead a word such as component or element should be used
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
fac•tor
(ˈfæk tər)n.
1. one of the elements contributing to a particular result or situation.
2. one of two or more numbers, algebraic expressions, or the like, that when multiplied together produce a given product; a divisor: 6 and 3 are factors of 18.
3. any of certain substances necessary to a biochemical or physiological process, esp. those whose exact nature and function are unknown.
4. a business organization that lends money on accounts receivable or buys and collects accounts receivable.
5. an agent or merchant earning a commission by selling goods belonging to others.
6. a person or business organization that finances another's business.
v.t. 7. to express (a mathematical quantity) as a product of two or more quantities of like kind, as 30 = 2 ∙ 3 ∙ 5, or x2−y2=(x + y) (x − y).
8. factor in or into, to include as a contributing element.
[1400–50; Middle English facto(u)r < Latin factor maker]
fac′tor•a•ble, adj.
fac′tor•ship`, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
fac·tor
(făk′tər)Noun
1. One of two or more numbers or expressions that are multiplied to obtain a given product. For example, 2 and 3 are factors of 6, and a + b and a - b are factors of a2 - b2.
2. A substance found in the body, such as a protein, that is essential to a biological process. For example, growth factors are needed for proper cell growth and development.
Verb
To find the factors of a number or expression. For example, the number 12 can be factored into 2 and 6, or 3 and 4, or 1 and 12.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
factor
Past participle: factored
Gerund: factoring
| Imperative |
|---|
| factor |
| factor |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  factor - anything that contributes causally to a result; "a number of factors determined the outcome"cause - events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something; "they are trying to determine the cause of the crash" fundamental - any factor that could be considered important to the understanding of a particular business; "fundamentals include a company's growth, revenues, earnings, management, and capital structure" parameter - any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance unknown quantity - a factor in a given situation whose bearing and importance is not apparent; "I don't know what the new man will do; he's still an unknown quantity" wild card - an unpredictable factor; "the weather was a wild card" releasing factor, releasing hormone, RF - a substance produced by the hypothalamus that is capable of accelerating the secretion of a given hormone by the anterior pituitary gland intrinsic factor - a substance produced by the mucosa of the stomach and intestines that is essential for the absorption of vitamin B12; "lack of intrinsic factor can result in pernicious anemia" |
| 2. |  factor - an abstract part of something; "jealousy was a component of his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an effective ingredient of a speech"be all and end all, be-all and end-all - the essential factor; the all-important element; the supreme aim; "profit is the be-all and end-all of business" plot element - a component or element of the plot of a story point - a geometric element that has position but no extension; "a point is defined by its coordinates" | |
| 3. | factor - one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?" prime factor - the prime factors of a quantity are all of the prime quantities that will exactly divide the given quantity integer, whole number - any of the natural numbers (positive or negative) or zero; "an integer is a number that is not a fraction" equivalent-binary-digit factor - the average number of binary digits needed to express one radix digit in a numeration system that is not binary; on the average a number that can be expressed in N decimal digits takes 3.3N binary digits common divisor, common factor, common measure - an integer that divides two (or more) other integers evenly | |
| 4. |  factor - a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commissionbrokerage, brokerage firm, securities firm - a stock broker's business; charges a fee to act as intermediary between buyer and seller auctioneer - an agent who conducts an auction bourgeois, businessperson - a capitalist who engages in industrial commercial enterprise investment banker, underwriter - a banker who deals chiefly in underwriting new securities estate agent, house agent, land agent, real estate agent, real estate broker - a person who is authorized to act as an agent for the sale of land; "in England they call a real estate agent a land agent" ship broker - an agent for the ship owner; obtains cargo and may arrange for its loading or discharge stockbroker - an agent in the buying and selling of stocks and bonds syndic - one appointed to represent a city or university or corporation in business transactions travel agent - someone who sells or arranges trips or tours for customers | |
| 5. | factor - any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together deflator - a statistical factor designed to remove the effect of inflation; inflation adjusted variables are in constant dollars number - a concept of quantity involving zero and units; "every number has a unique position in the sequence" conversion factor - factor by which a quantity that is expressed in one set of units must be multiplied in order to convert it into another set of units constant of proportionality, factor of proportionality - the constant value of the ratio of two proportional quantities x and y; usually written y = kx, where k is the factor of proportionality | |
| 6. | factor - an independent variable in statistics experimental variable, independent variable - (statistics) a variable whose values are independent of changes in the values of other variables | |
| 7. |  factor - (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; "genes were formerly called factors"dominant gene - gene that produces the same phenotype in the organism whether or not its allele identical; "the dominant gene for brown eyes" allele, allelomorph - (genetics) either of a pair (or series) of alternative forms of a gene that can occupy the same locus on a particular chromosome and that control the same character; "some alleles are dominant over others" genetic marker - a specific gene that produces a recognizable trait and can be used in family or population studies homeotic gene - one the genes that are involved in embryologic development lethal gene - any gene that has an effect that causes the death of the organism at any stage of life linkage group, linked genes - any pair of genes that tend to be transmitted together; "the genes of Drosophila fall into four linkage groups" modifier gene, modifier - a gene that modifies the effect produced by another gene mutant gene - a gene that has changed so that the normal transmission and expression of a trait is affected nonallele - genes that are not competitors at the same locus operator gene - a gene that activates the production of messenger RNA by adjacent structural genes oncogene, transforming gene - a gene that disposes normal cells to change into cancerous tumor cells polygene - a gene that by itself has little effect on the phenotype but which can act together with others to produce observable variations proto-oncogene - a normal gene that has the potential to become an oncogene recessive gene - gene that produces its characteristic phenotype only when its allele is identical; "the recessive gene for blue eyes" regulator gene, regulatory gene - a gene that produces a repressor substance that inhibits an operator gene repressor gene - gene that prevents a nonallele from being transcribed structural gene - a gene that controls the production of a specific protein or peptide suppresser gene, suppressor gene, suppresser, suppressor - a gene that suppresses the phenotypic expression of another gene (especially of a mutant gene) transgene - an exogenous gene introduced into the genome of another organism X-linked gene - a gene located on an X chromosome holandric gene, Y-linked gene - a gene located on a Y chromosome chromosome - a threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order; "humans have 22 chromosome pairs plus two sex chromosomes" genetic science, genetics - the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms molecular biology - the branch of biology that studies the structure and activity of macromolecules essential to life (and especially with their genetic role) sequence - serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern; "the sequence of names was alphabetical"; "he invented a technique to determine the sequence of base pairs in DNA" deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid, DNA - (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information; "DNA is the king of molecules" | |
| Verb | 1. | factor - resolve into factors; "a quantum computer can factor the number 15" arithmetic - the branch of pure mathematics dealing with the theory of numerical calculations |
| 2. | factor - be a contributing factor; "make things factor into a company's profitability" | |
| 3. | factor - consider as relevant when making a decision; "You must factor in the recent developments" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
factor
noun element, thing, point, part, cause, influence, item, aspect, circumstance, characteristic, consideration, component, determinant Physical activity is an important factor in maintaining fitness.
Usage: In strict usage, factor should only be used to refer to something which contributes to a result. It should not be used to refer to a part of something, such as a plan or arrangement; more appropriate alternatives to factor in this sense are words such as component or element.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
factor
noun1. One of the individual entities contributing to a whole:
2. One of the conditions or facts attending an event and having some bearing on it:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
عاملعُنْصُر، عامِلقاسِم، عامِل مُشْتَرَك
činiteldělitelokolnost
faktorforholdagent
tegur
edustajatekijä
szorzótényezõtényezõtényező
òáttur
daugiklisfaktorius
faktorsreizinātājs
deliteľ
dejavnik
factor
[ˈfæktəʳ]A. N
1. (= consideration) → factor m
safety factor → factor m de seguridad
the human factor → el factor humano
safety factor → factor m de seguridad
the human factor → el factor humano
2. (Math) → factor m
highest common factor → máximo común divisor m
to increase by a factor of five → aumentar cinco veces, multiplicarse por cinco
highest common factor → máximo común divisor m
to increase by a factor of five → aumentar cinco veces, multiplicarse por cinco
3. (Comm) → agente mf comisionado/a
factor in VT + ADV to factor sth in → incluir algo como factor a tener en cuenta
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
factor
[ˈfæktər] n
(= element) [problem, decision] → facteur m
to be a factor in sth → être un facteur de qch, jouer un rôle dans qch
safety factor → facteur m de sécurité
risk factor → facteur m de risque
to be a risk factor for sth, to be a risk factor in sth → être un facteur de risque de qch
contributing factor → facteur contributif
to be a contributing factor to sth → être un facteur contributif dans qch, contribuer à qch feel-good factor
to be a factor in sth → être un facteur de qch, jouer un rôle dans qch
safety factor → facteur m de sécurité
risk factor → facteur m de risque
to be a risk factor for sth, to be a risk factor in sth → être un facteur de risque de qch
contributing factor → facteur contributif
to be a contributing factor to sth → être un facteur contributif dans qch, contribuer à qch feel-good factor
(COMMERCE) (= business) → société f d'affacturage (= agent) → dépositaire mf
vi → faire du factoring
to factor sth in to [+ calculation, decision] → prendre qch en compte dans
factor in
vt sep (= take account of) → prendre en compteto factor sth in to [+ calculation, decision] → prendre qch en compte dans
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
factor
n
→ Faktor m; the scandal was a contributing factor in his defeat → der Skandal trug zu seiner Niederlage bei; to be a factor in determining/deciding something → etw mitbestimmen/mitentscheiden
(= agent) → Makler(in) m(f)
(Comm, for debts) → Kommissionär(in) m(f)
(Biol) → Erbfaktor m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
factor
[ˈfæktəʳ]1. n
a. (fact) → fattore m, elemento
human factor → elemento umano
safety factor → coefficiente m di sicurezza
human factor → elemento umano
safety factor → coefficiente m di sicurezza
b. (Math) → fattore m
c. (Comm) (company) → società f inv di factoring (000) (agent) → factor m inv
2. vi (Comm) → esercitare il factoring
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
factor
(ˈfӕktə) noun1. something, eg a fact, which has to be taken into account or which affects the course of events. There are various factors to be considered.
2. a number which exactly divides into another. 3 is a factor of 6.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
fac·tor
n. factor, elemento que contribuye a producir una acción;
antihemophilic ___ → ___ antihemofílico;
clotting, coagulation ___ → ___ de coagulación;
epidermic growth ___ → ___ de crecimiento epidérmico;
fibroplast growth ___ → ___ de crecimiento fibroplástico;
releasing ___ → ___ liberador;
Rh ___ → ___ Rh [erre ache];
rheumatoid ___ → ___ reumatoideo;
tumor angiogenesis ___ → ___ angiogenético tumoral.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
factor
n factor m; clotting o coagulation — factor de coagulación; — V Leiden factor V de Leiden; intrinsic — factor intrínseco; Rh — factor Rh; rheumatoid — factor reumatoide or reumatoideo; risk — factor de riesgo; sun protection — (SPF) factor de protección solar (FPS)English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.