Factor definition
The rate increased by a factor of ten.
If you factor 70, you get 2, 5, and 7.
An example of factor would be eye witness accounts to a news report about a crime.
An example of factor is 9 to 27.
The greatest factor in the decision was the need for public transportation.
The economy was a factor in this year's budget figures.
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.
An example of factor is to reduce 9 to 3 x 3.
An example of factor is to add in personal spending money to a budget.
The rate increased by a factor of ten.
The launch temperature was a factor of the Challenger disaster.
- to include as a factor
- to exclude as a factor
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of factor
- Middle English factour perpetrator, agent from Old French facteur from Latin factor maker from facere to make dhē- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle French facteur, from Latin factor (“a doer, maker, performer”), from factus (“done or made”), perfect passive participle of faciō (“do, make”).
From Wiktionary