factor

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
factor/ˈfaktə(r)/

▶noun

• 1 a circumstance, fact, or influence that contributes to a result.

  ■ Biology a gene that determines a hereditary characteristic.

• 2 Mathematics a number or quantity that when multiplied with another produces a given number or expression.

  ■ a number or algebraic expression by which another is exactly divisible.

• 3 a level on a scale of measurement: a protection factor of 15.

• 4 Physiology any of a number of substances in the blood which are involved in coagulation.

• 5 a business agent.

  ■ a company that buys a manufacturer's invoices at a discount and takes responsibility for collecting the payments due on them.

  ■ Scottish a land agent or steward.

▶verb

• 1 (factor something in/out) include (or exclude) something as a relevant element when making a decision.

• 2 Mathematics another term for factorize.

• 3 sell (one's receivable debts) to a factor.

– derivatives
factorable adjective.

– origin ME (meaning ‘doer’, also in the Scots sense ‘agent’): from Fr. facteur or L. factor, from fact-, facere ‘do’.