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fac·tor (f k t r)n.1. One that actively contributes to an accomplishment, result, or process: "Surprise is the greatest factor in war" Tom Clancy. See Synonyms at element. 2. a. One who acts for someone else; an agent. b. A person or firm that accepts accounts receivable as security for short-term loans. 3. Mathematics One of two or more quantities that divides a given quantity without a remainder. For example, 2 and 3 are factors of 6; a and b are factors of ab. 4. A quantity by which a stated quantity is multiplied or divided, so as to indicate an increase or decrease in a measurement: The rate increased by a factor of ten. 5. A gene. No longer in technical usage. 6. Physiology A substance that functions in a specific biochemical reaction or bodily process, such as blood coagulation. tr.v. fac·tored, fac·tor·ing, fac·tors To determine or indicate explicitly the factors of. Phrasal Verb: factor in To figure in: We factored sick days and vacations in when we prepared the work schedule.
[Middle English factour, perpetrator, agent, from Old French facteur, from Latin factor, maker, from facere, to make; see dh - in Indo-European roots.]
factor·a·ble adj. factor·ship n. |
factor Noun 1. an element that contributes to a result: reliability was an important factor in the success of the car 2. Maths any whole number that will divide exactly into a given number, for example 2 and 3 are factors of 6 3. a quantity by which an amount is multiplied or divided to become that number of times bigger or smaller: production increased by a factor of 3 4. Med any of several substances that participate in the clotting of blood: factor VIII 5. a level on a scale of measurement: suntan oil with a factor of 5 6. (in Scotland) the manager of an estate [Latin: one who acts] USAGE: Factor (sense 1) should only be used to refer to something which contributes to a result. It should not be used to refer to a part of something such as a plan or arrangement; instead a word such as component or element should be used.
factor (fktr)Noun1. One of two or more numbers or expressions that are multiplied to obtain a given product. For example, 2 and 3 are factors of 6, and a + b and a - b are factors of a2 - b2. 2. A substance found in the body, such as a protein, that is essential to a biological process. For example, growth factors are needed for proper cell growth and development. Verb To find the factors of a number or expression. For example, the number 12 can be factored into 2 and 6, or 3 and 4, or 1 and 12. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  factor - anything that contributes causally to a result; "a number of factors determined the outcome"cause - events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something; "they are trying to determine the cause of the crash" fundamental - any factor that could be considered important to the understanding of a particular business; "fundamentals include a company's growth, revenues, earnings, management, and capital structure" parameter - any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance unknown quantity - a factor in a given situation whose bearing and importance is not apparent; "I don't know what the new man will do; he's still an unknown quantity" wild card - an unpredictable factor; "the weather was a wild card" releasing factor, releasing hormone, RF - a substance produced by the hypothalamus that is capable of accelerating the secretion of a given hormone by the anterior pituitary gland intrinsic factor - a substance produced by the mucosa of the stomach and intestines that is essential for the absorption of vitamin B12; "lack of intrinsic factor can result in pernicious anemia" | | 2. |  factor - 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"plot element - a component or element of the plot of a story point - a geometric element that has position but no extension; "a point is defined by its coordinates" division, section, part - one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole; "the written part of the exam"; "the finance section of the company"; "the BBC's engineering division" | | 3. | factor - one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?"prime factor - the prime factors of a quantity are all of the prime quantities that will exactly divide the given quantity integer, whole number - any of the natural numbers (positive or negative) or zero; "an integer is a number that is not a fraction" equivalent-binary-digit factor - the average number of binary digits needed to express one radix digit in a numeration system that is not binary; on the average a number that can be expressed in N decimal digits takes 3.3N binary digits | | 4. |  factor - a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commissionship broker - an agent for the ship owner; obtains cargo and may arrange for its loading or discharge stockbroker - an agent in the buying and selling of stocks and bonds syndic - one appointed to represent a city or university or corporation in business transactions travel agent - someone who sells or arranges trips or tours for customers | | 5. | factor - any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied togetherdeflator - a statistical factor designed to remove the effect of inflation; inflation adjusted variables are in constant dollars number - a concept of quantity involving zero and units; "every number has a unique position in the sequence" conversion factor - factor by which a quantity that is expressed in one set of units must be multiplied in order to convert it into another set of units | | 6. | factor - an independent variable in statistics | | 7. |  factor - (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"dominant gene - gene that produces the same phenotype in the organism whether or not its allele identical; "the dominant gene for brown eyes" allele, allelomorph - (genetics) either of a pair (or series) of alternative forms of a gene that can occupy the same locus on a particular chromosome and that control the same character; "some alleles are dominant over others" genetic marker - a specific gene that produces a recognizable trait and can be used in family or population studies homeotic gene - one the genes that are involved in embryologic development lethal gene - any gene that has an effect that causes the death of the organism at any stage of life linkage group, linked genes - any pair of genes that tend to be transmitted together; "the genes of Drosophila fall into four linkage groups" mutant gene - a gene that has changed so that the normal transmission and expression of a trait is affected nonallele - genes that are not competitors at the same locus operator gene - a gene that activates the production of messenger RNA by adjacent structural genes polygene - a gene that by itself has little effect on the phenotype but which can act together with others to produce observable variations proto-oncogene - a normal gene that has the potential to become an oncogene recessive gene - gene that produces its characteristic phenotype only when its allele is identical; "the recessive gene for blue eyes" repressor gene - gene that prevents a nonallele from being transcribed structural gene - a gene that controls the production of a specific protein or peptide transgene - an exogenous gene introduced into the genome of another organism chromosome - a threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order; "humans have 22 chromosome pairs plus two sex chromosomes" molecular biology - the branch of biology that studies the structure and activity of macromolecules essential to life (and especially with their genetic role) sequence - serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern; "the sequence of names was alphabetical"; "he invented a technique to determine the sequence of base pairs in DNA" deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid, DNA - (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information; "DNA is the king of molecules" | | Verb | 1. | factor - resolve into factors; "a quantum computer can factor the number 15"arithmetic - the branch of pure mathematics dealing with the theory of numerical calculations | | 2. | factor - be a contributing factor; "make things factor into a company's profitability"contribute, lend, impart, add, bestow, bring - bestow a quality on; "Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company"; "The music added a lot to the play"; "She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings"; "This adds a light note to the program" | | 3. | factor - consider as relevant when making a decision; "You must factor in the recent developments"consider, study - give careful consideration to; "consider the possibility of moving" |
factor noun element, thing, point, part, cause, influence, item, aspect, circumstance, characteristic, consideration, component, determinant USAGE In strict usage, factor should only be used to refer to something which contributes to a result. It should not be used to refer to a part of something, such as a plan or arrangement; more appropriate alternatives to factor in this sense are words such as component or element.  Translationsfactor [ˈfæktəʳ] n → factor m; ( COMM) (= person); agente m/f comisionado/a factor [ˈfæktəʳ] n → facteur m [ of sun cream]; indice m (de protection); factor [ˈfæktəʳ] n → Faktor m; (Comm) → Kommissionär m; safety factor → Sicherheitsfaktor m; human factor → menschlicher Faktor factor [ˈfæktəʳ] n → fattore m; ( COMM) ( company) → organizzazione specializzata nell'incasso di crediti per conto terzi: (= agent); agente m depositario
factorn factor [ˈfӕktə]1 something, eg a fact, which has to be taken into account or which affects the course of events There are various factors to be considered.faktorعُنْصُر، عامِلфакторčinitel, okolnostfaktor; forholdder Faktorπαράγοντας, συντελεστήςfactorfaktorعامل؛ فاکتورtekijäfacteurגוֹרֵםगणित अंशčimbenik, faktortényezőfaktorþátturfattore要因요소, 요인faktorius, veiksnysfaktorsfaktorfactorfaktor, forhold, omstendighetczynnikfactorfactorфакторčiniteľdejavnikfaktorfaktor, omständighetตัวประกอบ; ปัจจัยที่ทำให้เกิดผลหรือมีอิทธิพลต่อสิ่งต่าง ๆöğe因素фактор, чинникاثر انگیز عنصر یا عاملnhân tố因素 2 a number which exactly divides into another 3 is a factor of 6.faktor, delerقاسِم، عامِل مُشْتَرَكкратноdělitelfaktorder Faktorδιαιρέτηςdivisortegurمضربtekijädiviseurגוֹרֵםघटक, कारक, कारणdjeljenik(szorzó)tényezőpembagiþátturfattore primo因数인수daugiklisreizinātājsfaktorfactorfaktormnożnikfactordivizorмножительdeliteľfaktorčinilacfaktorตัวประกอบ (ทางคณิตศาสตร์)bölen因數множникعدد ضربیthừa số系数
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insulinlike growth factors
