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

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

1934, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fudge factor

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