Factor
WordNet
noun
(1) (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"
(2) An independent variable in statistics
(3) 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"
(4) Anything that contributes causally to a result
"A number of factors determined the outcome"
(5) A businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission
(6) Any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together
(7) One of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer
"What are the 4 factors of 6?"
verb
(8) Resolve into factors
"A quantum computer can factor the number 15"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , from perfect passive participle , from .
Noun
- A doer, maker; a person who does things for another person or organization
- The factor of the trading post bought the furs.
- An integral part
- The greatest factor in the decision was the need for public transportation.
- The economy was a factor in this year's budget figures.
- Any of various objects multiplied together to form some whole
- 3 is a factor of 12, as are 2, 4 and 6.
- The factors of the Klein four-group are both cyclic of order 2.
- Influence; a phenomenon that affects the nature, the magnitude, and/or the timing of a consequence
- The launch temperature was a factor of the Challenger disaster.
Quotations
- 1956 — Arthur C. Clarke, The City and the Stars, p 38
- The first thousand primes...marched in order before him...the complete sequence of all those numbers that possessed no factors except themselves and unity.
Verb
- To find all the factors of (a number or other mathematical object) (the objects that divide it evenly).
- To be a product of other objects.