Factor Number Major Risk Environmental Key Noun ˈfæktə(R

• obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease.
• the key/crucial/deciding factor
• criminality is associated with a range of individual, family and environmental factors.
• the result will depend on a number of different factors.

factor

1. one of several things that cause or influence something
• SEE ALSO wow factor
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/wow-factor
• Obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease.
• the key/crucial/deciding factor
• Criminality is associated with a range of individual, family and environmental factors.
• The result will depend on a number of different factors.
• The closure of the mine was the single most important factor in the town's decline.
• We have identified a few key factors in the project's success.

Extra Examples

• A variety of other factors will be taken into account.
• External factors in the production of disease include pollution of the environment.
• Look for the common factor in all these cases.
• Money proved to be the deciding factor.
• Poor organization was certainly a contributory factor to the crisis.
• An unusually cold spring may have been a contributing factor.
• Researchers now believe nutrition may be a major factor behind some chronic diseases.
• His defending was a key factor in the team's win.
• The ability to obtain raw materials is a signficant limiting factor on production.
• Genetic factors play a part in the condition.
• Studies have established that smoking is a risk factor for cancer.
• The appeal judges spoke of strong mitigating factors in the case.
• The human factor is crucial to success in team management.
• There are several factors at play here.
• This is regarded as the crucial factor in deciding who should get priority.
• a key factor in the decision
• environmental factors which predispose children to middle-ear infections
• one of the factors that influenced his decision
• one of the most significant factors
• the contextual factors which operate to hinder understanding
• the main factors behind the dollar's weakness
2. a number that divides into another number exactly
• SEE ALSO highest common factor
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/highest-common-factor
• 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 are the factors of 12.
3. the amount by which something increases or decreases
• The real wage of the average worker has increased by a factor of over ten in the last 70 years.
4. a particular level on a scale of measurement
• SEE ALSO chill factor
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/chill-factor
• a suntan lotion with a protection factor of 10
• The wind-chill factor will make it seem colder.
5. a substance in the blood that helps the clotting process. There are several types of this substance.
• SEE ALSO clotting factor
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/clotting-factor
• Haemophiliacs have no factor 8 in their blood.
6. the feeling of confidence in the future that is shared by many people
• After the recession, people were waiting for the return of the feel-good factor before starting to spend money again.

Word Origin

• late Middle English (meaning ‘doer’, also in the Scots sense ‘agent’): from French facteur or Latin factor, from fact- ‘done’, from the verb facere.