fudge factor

noun

: an arbitrary mathematical term inserted into a calculation in order to arrive at an expected solution or to allow for errors especially of underestimation

broadly : any arbitrary unspecified factor

Examples of fudge factor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Over the following decades, scientists built on Kohn and Sham’s work with increasingly clever ways of estimating the fudge factor, and density functionals became the de facto way to understand electrons. —Quanta Magazine, 7 Feb. 2022

This happens in discussions of psychopharmacology, genetic engineering, brain implants, artificial intelligence and other technologies that might, in principle (that wonderful, all-purpose fudge factor), boost our cognitive and physiological abilities. —John Horgan, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2021

The US Environmental Protection Agency's test averages almost twice that, but then gets subjected to a fudge factor that heavily penalizes some while flattering others. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 31 Aug. 2020

And the cosmological constant, as a fudge factor that changes how spacetime interacts with energy, is still a leading contender. —Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 11 July 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fudge factor

• benefactor
• chiropractor
• malefactor
• multifactor
• subcontractor
• acter
• actor
• tractor
• attractor
• cofactor
• compactor
• contactor