Factor - Definition

n 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" [syn: component,
constituent, element, factor, ingredient]
3: one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into
another integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?" [syn:
divisor, factor]
4: a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a
commission [syn: agent, factor, broker]
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" [syn: gene, cistron, factor]
v 1: resolve into factors; "a quantum computer can factor the
number 15" [syn: factor, factor in, factor out]
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" [syn: factor, factor in,
factor out]