factor: Meaning and Definition of

fac•tor

1. one of the elements contributing to a particular result or situation: Poverty is only one of the factors in crime.
2. one of two or more numbers, algebraic expressions, or the like, that when multiplied together produce a given product; a divisor: 6 and 3 are factors of 18.
3. any of certain substances necessary to a biochemical or physiological process, esp. those whose exact nature and function are unknown.
4. a business organization that lends money on accounts receivable or buys and collects accounts receivable.
5. a person who acts or transacts business for another; an agent.
6. an agent entrusted with the possession of goods to be sold in the agent's name; a merchant earning a commission by selling goods belonging to others.
7. a person or business organization that provides money for another's new business venture; one who finances another's business.
8. See
9. the steward or bailiff of an estate.

1. to express (a mathematical quantity) as a product of two or more quantities of like kind, as 30 = 2&syl;3&syl;5, or x − y = (x + y) (x − y). Cf. expand (def. 4a).
2. to act as a factor for.

1. to act as a factor.
2. to include as an essential element, esp. in forecasting or planning: You must factor insurance payments into the cost of maintaining a car.