Meaning & Definition of Factor in English

1. Anything that contributes causally to a result

• "A number of factors determined the outcome"

2. 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"

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

• "What are the 4 factors of 6?"

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

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

6. An independent variable in statistics

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

• "Genes were formerly called factors"

1. Resolve into factors

• "A quantum computer can factor the number 15"

2. Be a contributing factor

• "Make things factor into a company's profitability"

3. Consider as relevant when making a decision

• "You must factor in the recent developments"