factor
noun
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Definition of factor
(Entry 1 of 2)
factor
verb
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Definition of factor (Entry 2 of 2)
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Other Words from factor
Noun
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noun
Verb
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adjective
Synonyms for factor
Synonyms: Noun
agent, assignee, attorney, commissary, delegate, deputy, envoy, minister, procurator, proxy, rep, representative
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Examples of factor in a Sentence
Noun
There were several factors contributing to their recent decline. Poor planning was a major factor in the company's failure. 6, 4, 3, and 2 are factors of 12.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
There are so many factors that affect the end result (air temperature, water temperature, oven temperature. . — Annemarie Conte, Woman's Day, "What We Learned After Baking Nothing But Bread for 3 Days," 9 Apr. 2019 Surprisingly, none of these factors were predictive. — Shlomo Benartzi And Suzanne Shu, WSJ, "Why Retirees Are Wary of Annuities," 10 Feb. 2019 All these factors make the equation that much more difficult. — Megan Mcintyre, Glamour, "What No One Tells You About Tipping at the Hair Salon," 12 Dec. 2018 These factors range from the strength of ocean currents to the gravitational pull of large ice fields. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Video: Why our rising oceans aren’t causing problems everywhere," 5 Dec. 2018 Maximize your specimen's blooming period by paying attention to these six key factors: Temperature: Maintain an optimal climate of 65 degrees. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "How to Keep Your Christmas Cactus Blooming the Whole Holiday Season," 27 Nov. 2018 These factors all play into the authenticity of the transformations, and helped shape the exciting final product. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "Three San Diego Bungalows Are Transformed Into Vibrant, History-Filled Getaways," 3 Oct. 2018 Identifying factors like the texture and cap design help her distinguish a Caudalie face mask from Fresh's iconic Soy Face Cleanser. — Karina Hoshikawa, Allure, "How Makeup Helped Beauty Vlogger Molly Burke Find Confidence After Losing Her Vision," 2 Apr. 2019 Windier states allow for higher capacity factors from wind turbines, allowing them to sell more electricity and recuperate their upfront costs faster. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "4 maps that show who’s being left behind in America’s wind-power boom," 28 Mar. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The result will address many of the questions hanging over the company, though, and will likely factor heavily into any settlement talks with Apple, which now has plenty of its own problems to worry about. — Dan Gallagher, WSJ, "Qualcomm’s Day in Court Is Priced In," 7 Jan. 2019 Their Spring collections will factor heavily into the judges’ decisions leading up to the awards ceremony on November 5th. — Elisee Browchuk, Vogue, "New York Fashion Week 2018 Calendar: The Who, What, Where, When, and Why," 31 Aug. 2018 Now to say Penske drivers enjoy a massive advantage over the rest of the field would be inaccurate, but there's little doubt at least one of them will factor into the outcome of Sunday's Kohler Grand Prix. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "Penske poised to avenge last season's disappointment at Road America," 22 June 2018 But this year the financial penalty probably won’t factor into the decision for the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, a four-year veteran capable of resetting the market for players other than quarterbacks. — Dan Woike & Gary Klein, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Chargers ready for quiet minicamp; Rams likely missing Aaron Donald," 11 June 2018 The cause of fire is unknown but the homeless encampment in the same field behind the store will factor into the investigation. — Molly Sullivan, sacbee, "Rancho grass fire may be linked to homeless encampment | The Sacramento Bee," 20 May 2018 On Tuesday, Karlgaard declined to address the potential likelihood of Graham's contract being renewed in the coming months; what will factor into the decision on Graham's future; and what a potential timeline for that decision might look like. — Glynn A. Hill, Houston Chronicle, "Report: Rice won't bring back baseball coach Wayne Graham," 25 Apr. 2018 More importantly, the data collected allows them to assess how increasing threats from climate change in the swampy mangroves, which can be impossibly difficult to measure, will factor into forests rebounding from hurricanes. — Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, "NASA team finds massive Everglades mangrove damage from Irma. Can it recover? | Miami Herald," 18 Apr. 2018 Since the acquisition, EMI Music Publishing has fared very nicely under the administration of Sony/ATV Music Publishing and the guidance of SATV chairman/CEO Martin Bandier -- and its current and potential growth will factor into the new price tag. — Ed Christman, Billboard, "EMI FAQ: A Beginner's Guide to What Could Be This Summer's Biggest Music Industry Auction," 6 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'factor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for factor
factor
nounFinancial Definition of factor
What It Is
A factor is a financial institution that purchases receivables from a company.
How It Works
Let's say Company XYZ sells widgets. It has about $1 million in receivables from customers who have not paid for their widgets.
Company XYZ needs cash right away because it is trying to finish building a new factory. It calls a factor, which purchases the receivables for $750,000. In the deal, Company XYZ gets $750,000 right away, and the factor gets the right to all the money from the receivables ($1 million). The factor then assumes the risk of customers paying late or not at all.
Why It Matters
Factors and factoring can be complicated, but the basic idea is that companies can trade cash flows later for cash flows now, which is useful for companies that need cash right away. It can also be expensive, as the example shows (Company XYZ gave up $250,000 of its receivables for the deal).
Because factors assume the risk of collecting the receivables, they are choosy about which companies they work with and the creditworthiness of the companies' customers.
Source: Investing Answers
factor
noun
English Language Learners Definition of factor
(Entry 1 of 2)
factor
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of factor (Entry 2 of 2)
See the full definition for factor in the English Language Learners Dictionary
factor
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Kids Definition of factor
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factor
verbKids Definition of factor (Entry 2 of 2)
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factor
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Medical Definition of factor
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adjective
factor
nounLegal Definition of factor
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