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
Dove discovered that 71 percent of girls look to music as an influential factor in their lives, which inspired the brand to reach out to girls through Rowland's song. — Maya Allen, Marie Claire, "Kelly Rowland's New Music Video Shatters Beauty Standards," 6 Feb. 2019 That was part of a 2-for-13 third-down conversion rate Seattle coaches cited later as the most significant factor in their offensive struggles. — Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times, "Seahawks mailbag: Debating Seattle’s late-game offensive philosophy," 4 Feb. 2019 Form factor: Intel and its partners don’t plan on radically redesigning the PC with much beyond the 2-in-1 and clamshell designs already on the market, Newman said. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Inside Project Athena: How Intel and PC makers are creating the ultra-responsive laptops of tomorrow," 7 Jan. 2019 However, many luxury and designer sofas with webbing are still expensive because of other factors, such as materials, silhouette, aesthetic, and more. — Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, "Everything You Need to Know About 8-Way Hand-Tied Sofas," 5 Jan. 2019 Production volume will no longer be a competitive advantage, which will emphasize skill and artistry as the distinguishing factor. — Pam Baker, Ars Technica, "Artificial Intelligence and the coming of the self-designing machine," 6 Dec. 2018 And to what extent did the rise of the political evangelical right as a potent electoral and cultural force factor into that? — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "Why this shrinking religious group might be among America’s last “swing voters”," 5 Nov. 2018 In an email interview with me, Bradford mentioned uncertainty as a pervasive factor. — Vanessa Willhoughby, Allure, "The Reality of Navigating the Mental Health System as a Black Woman," 13 Oct. 2018 Admission rates at UC Berkeley, for example, dropped from 50% to 20% for Black students and from 45% to 21% for Latino students between 1997 and 1998 and 1998 and 1999, the first year the institution eliminated race as a factor in admissions. — Charlotte West, Teen Vogue, "What You Need to Know about Race and College Admissions," 27 Sep. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Experian PLC, one of the largest credit-reporting firms in the U.S., will start factoring in this payments information for some consumers early next year. — Annamaria Andriotis, WSJ, "Want a Better Credit Score? Soon, Your Cellphone Bill Could Help," 17 Jan. 2019 Both of these probably factored in to my opportunity to chow down on insects. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Ars eats more bugs, finds a few we like," 30 Sep. 2018 For any car purchase, Moody recommends factoring resale value, cost of ownership expenses such as fuel economy and new tires, and accessibility to a dealership network. — Robert Duffer, chicagotribune.com, "Graduating to your own car? Safety features are key," 8 June 2018 Since Amazon’s service is designed to deliver packages to homes, not businesses, the costs of residential delivery are factored in from the beginning, eliminating the need for a surcharge. — Paul Ziobro, WSJ, "Amazon’s Pitch to Woo Shippers: Fewer Fees Than FedEx, UPS," 23 Jan. 2019 Public space is factoring into the health equation, too. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "How cities became more equitable in 2018," 26 Dec. 2018 Social behaviors may not factor into US credit scores, but the idea that a person’s financial history reflects trustworthiness has long influenced employment decisions and other factors that affect Americans’ quality-of-life. — Nadra Nittle, Vox, "Spend “frivolously” and be penalized under China’s new social credit system," 2 Nov. 2018 However, the ZiPs projections don't factor in future roster moves, particularly trades that seem likely to occur. — Pete Grathoff, kansascity, "Royals have slight chance to reach modern-day record for losses, says FanGraphs writer," 10 July 2018 What isn’t factored in: admission to Orlando area theme parks. — Gretchen Day-bryant, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Orlando, Fort Lauderdale rank as affordable vacation destinations," 9 July 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
(Entry 1 of 2)
factor
verbKids Definition of factor (Entry 2 of 2)
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factor
noun
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Medical Definition of factor
Other Words from factor
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adjective
factor
nounLegal Definition of factor
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