1. (

• factor

) anything that contributes causally to a result; "a number of factors determined the outcome" ;

2. (

• component ,
• constituent ,
• element ,
• factor ,
• ingredient

) 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" ;

3. (

• divisor ,
• factor

) one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?" ;

4. (

• agent ,
• factor ,
• broker

) a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission ;

5. (

• factor ,

) any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together ;

6. (

• factor ,

) an independent variable in statistics ;

7. (

• gene ,
• cistron ,
• 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" ;

1. (

• factor ,
• factor_in ,
• factor_out

) resolve into factors; "a quantum computer can factor the number 15" ;

2. (

• factor

) be a contributing factor; "make things factor into a company's profitability" ;

3. (

• factor ,
• factor_in ,
• factor_out ,

) consider as relevant when making a decision; "You must factor in the recent developments" ;