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factor - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'factor' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Factor [ n.]
- One who transacts business for another; an agent; a substitute; especially, a mercantile agent who buys and sells goods and transacts business for others in commission; a commission merchant or consignee. He may be a home factor or a foreign factor. He may buy and sell in his own name, and he is intrusted with the possession and control of the goods; and in these respects he differs from a broker.
- A steward or bailiff of an estate.
- One of the elements or quantities which, when multiplied together, from a product.
- One of the elements, circumstances, or influences which contribute to produce a result; a constituent.
2 . Factor [ v. t.]
- To resolve (a quantity) into its factors.

Meaning of 'factor' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . factor [ n]
Meaning (1):
- an abstract part of something
Example in sentence:
  • a key factor in her success;
  • humor: an effective ingredient of a speech;
  • jealousy was a component of his character;
  • the grammatical elements of a sentence;
  • two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony
Meaning (2):
- anything that contributes causally to a result
Example in sentence:
  • a number of factors determined the outcome
Meaning (3):
- (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
Example in sentence:
  • genes were formerly called factors
Meaning (4):
- one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer
Example in sentence:
  • what are the 4 factors of 6?
5 . factor [ v]
Meaning (5):
- resolve into factors
Example in sentence:
  • a quantum computer can factor the number 15
Meaning (6):
- be a contributing factor
Example in sentence:
  • make things factor into a company's profitability
Meaning (7):
- consider as relevant when making a decision
Example in sentence:
  • You must factor in the recent developments

Nearby Words:

fac facade face faced facet facete faceted facetiae faceting facetious

See 'factor' also in:

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