Definition of 'factor'
Noun
- anything that contributes causally to a result; "a number of factors determined the outcome"
- 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"
Synonyms: component constituent element ingredient - any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together
- one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?"
Synonyms: divisor - a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission
Synonyms: agent broker - an independent variable in statistics
- (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"
Synonyms: gene cistron
Verb
- resolve into factors; "a quantum computer can factor the number 15"
Synonyms: factor in factor out
