factor

noun

• 1a circumstance, fact, or influence that contributes to a result or outcome:his legal problems were not a factor in his decision she worked fast, conscious of the time factor
• Biology a gene that determines a hereditary characteristic:the Rhesus factor

• 2a number or quantity that when multiplied with another produces a given number or expression.
• Mathematics a number or algebraic expression by which another is exactly divisible.

• 3 Physiology any of a number of substances in the blood, mostly identified by numerals, which are involved in coagulation. See factor VIII.

• 4a business agent; a merchant buying and selling on commission.
• a company that buys a manufacturer’s invoices at a discount and takes responsibility for collecting the payments due on them.
• archaic an agent, deputy, or representative.

verb

• 1 Mathematicsanother term for factorize.

• 2sell (one’s receivable debts) to a factor.