n.
- One that actively contributes to an accomplishment, result, or process: "Surprise is the greatest factor in war" (Tom Clancy). See synonyms at element.
- One who acts for someone else; an agent.
- A person or firm that accepts accounts receivable as security for short-term loans.
- 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.
- 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.
- A gene. No longer in technical usage.
- Physiology. A substance that functions in a specific biochemical reaction or bodily process, such as blood coagulation.
To determine or indicate explicitly the factors of.
phrasal verb:
factor in
- To figure in: We factored sick days and vacations in when we prepared the work schedule.
[Middle English factour, perpetrator, agent, from Old French facteur, from Latin factor, maker, from facere, to make.]
factorable fac'tor·a·ble adj.factorship fac'tor·ship' n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.