How to Use X factor in a Sentence

X factor

noun

• Still, the X factor on this week’s chart was clearly the sales.
  — Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 23 Aug. 2023
• Who or what will be the X factor for Golden State in this match-up?
  — Sporting Green Staff, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 2023
• Whether Trump appears at the debate may be the X factor.
  — Time, 17 Aug. 2023
• Of course, the biggest X factor here is the winner of this election.
  — Nathaniel Rakich, ABC News, 1 July 2024
• Expect the ground game to be featured (heavily) in this one, but success in the air will be the X factor.
  — Alexis Cubit, The Courier-Journal, 1 Sep. 2022
• But for all of them, music provides an X factor that could well make the difference on game day.
  — Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 12 Feb. 2025
• And those aren’t the only X factors scientists have to contend with.
  — WIRED, 29 June 2023
• In the tail, a dying Wilford spoke of how there was one X factor that Layton & Co. had not accounted for — pride.
  — Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 1 Sep. 2024
• For many in human resources, AI remains a big X factor.
  — Graham Glass, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
• Some ineffable X factor that transcends all of the above?
  — Jp Brammer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024
• The X factor for the 49ers is versatile wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
  — Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2022
• That makes data the X factor for every competitor trying to go faster and shatter records.
  — Joel Shapiro, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2023
• But what’s the X factor that separates a champion from a mere player with talent?
  — Corey Seymour, Vogue, 21 July 2023
• Talk of an X factor selection swirled around Trump almost from the beginning.
  — S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 16 July 2024
• He’s been Newcastle’s X factor all season and is capable of winning games on his own.
  — Andy Jones, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
• As always, the coronavirus remains the biggest X factor.
  — NBC News, 9 Aug. 2021
• We're meant to understand her unprocessed grief as the X factor in the showdown between Wakanda and Namor's ancient watery tuf, Talokan.
  — A.a. Dowd, Chron, 8 Nov. 2022
• No telling what that means for Monday afternoon, in part because outdoor games come with an X factor — a sheet of ice, even when at its best, that just isn’t up to the standards of smooth, groomed, and cured indoor ice.
  — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Dec. 2022
• The sheen of politics might be the X factor that makes his shows such a potent topic of discussion, but the thing that keeps people coming back has always been far more banal.
  — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 20 Dec. 2024
• The only X factor reflected on the pages is that the company’s official corporate name is now X Corp.
  — Todd Spangler, Variety, 24 July 2023
• Trump's mounting legal issues have become something of an X factor in the primary race.
  — Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2023
• But a few other X factors may be behind her decision to stay in the race, like the possibility that Trump is barred from the ballot in states beyond Colorado and Maine.
  — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 25 Jan. 2024
• The question of tariffs is just one of the X factors facing Target, which saw dramatic growth during the pandemic but has seen the increases stall over the last couple years.
  — Evan Clark, WWD, 4 Mar. 2025
• Beyond that are the other X factors — shipping in the Red Sea, the price of containers, last-mile logistics and the potential for post-election trade policy changes and more.
  — Evan Clark, WWD, 24 July 2024
• But there’s an additional X factor that is blowing up the rules of innovation.
  — Joe McKendrick, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
• Jalen Carter could single-handedly end the Commanders’ wild ride, but Daniels’ mobility is the X factor.
  — Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2025
• The better-performing secondary will be an X factor.
  — Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 28 Nov. 2025
• But the real X factor here will be radio.
  — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 29 Oct. 2025
• His magic feet can bring an X factor to Hurzeler’s attacking options.
  — Andy Naylor, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2025
• Having that immersion in your business world can be a real X factor.
  — Ryan McFarland, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025