2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If an amount increases by a factor of two, for example, or by a factor of eight, then it becomes two times bigger or eight times bigger. □ [+ of ] The cost of butter quadrupled and bread prices increased by a factor of five.
3 N‑SING You can use factor to refer to a particular level on a scale of measurement. □ …suncream with a protection factor of 8.
4 N‑COUNT A factor of a whole number is a smaller whole number which can be multiplied with another whole number to produce the first whole number. [TECHNICAL ]
▸ factor in or factor into PHRASAL VERB If you factor a particular cost or element into a calculation you are making, or if you factor it in , you include it. [mainly AM ] □ [V P n] Using a computer model they factored in the costs of transplants for those women who die. □ [V n P n] You'd better consider this and factor this into your decision making. [Also V n P ] COLLOCATIONS factor NOUN 1
noun + factor : fear, risk
adjective + factor : critical, crucial, deciding, decisive, significant; contributing, contributory; important, key, major, motivating; economic, environmental, psychological, social; aggravating, mitigating
fac|to|ry ◆◆◇ /fæ ktri/ (factories ) N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A factory is a large building where machines are used to make large quantities of goods. □ He owned furniture factories in New York State. SYNONYMS factory NOUN
plant: The plant provides forty per cent of the country's electricity.
works: The steel works could be seen for miles.
milclass="underline" …a textile mill.
workshop: …the railway workshops.
fa c|to|ry farm|ing N‑UNCOUNT Factory farming is a system of farming which involves keeping animals indoors, often with very little space, and giving them special foods so that they grow more quickly or produce more eggs or milk. [mainly BRIT ]
fa c|to|ry floo r N‑SING The factory floor refers to the workers in a factory, as opposed to the managers. It can also refer to the area where they work. □ He had worked on the factory floor for 16 years.
fa c|to|ry ou t|let (factory outlets ) or factory shop N‑COUNT [oft N n] A factory outlet is a shop where a factory sells damaged or out-of-date goods directly to customers at reduced prices.
fa c|to|ry ship (factory ships ) N‑COUNT A factory ship is a large fishing boat which has equipment for processing the fish that are caught, for example by cleaning or freezing them, before it returns to port.
fac|to|tum /fæktoʊ təm/ (factotums ) N‑COUNT A factotum is a servant who is employed to do a wide variety of jobs for someone. [FORMAL ]
fa ct sheet (fact sheets ) N‑COUNT A fact sheet is a short, printed document with information about a particular subject, especially a summary of information that has been given on a radio or television programme.
fac|tual /fæ ktʃuəl/ ADJ Something that is factual is concerned with facts or contains facts, rather than giving theories or personal interpretations. □ The editorial contained several factual errors. □ Any comparison that is not strictly factual runs the risk of being interpreted as subjective. ● fac|tu|al|ly ADV [ADV adj/-ed, ADV after v] □ I learned that a number of statements in my talk were factually wrong.
fac|ul|ty /fæ k ə lti/ (faculties )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl, oft poss N ] Your faculties are your physical and mental abilities. □ He was drunk and not in control of his faculties. □ [+ of ] It is also a myth that the faculty of hearing is greatly increased in blind people.
2 N‑VAR A faculty is a group of related departments in some universities, or the people who work in them. [BRIT ] □ [+ of ] …the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences.
3 N‑VAR [oft N n] A faculty is all the teaching staff of a university or college, or of one department. [AM ] □ The faculty agreed on a change in the requirements. □ How can faculty improve their teaching so as to encourage creativity? □ …eminent Stanford faculty members.
fad /fæ d/ (fads ) N‑COUNT You use fad to refer to an activity or topic of interest that is very popular for a short time, but which people become bored with very quickly. □ Hamnett does not believe environmental concern is a passing fad.
fad|dish /fæ d I ʃ/ ADJ If you describe something as faddish , you mean that it has no real value and that it will not remain popular for very long. □ …faddish footwear.
fad|dy /fæ di/ ADJ If you describe someone as faddy , you mean that they have very strong likes and dislikes, especially about what they eat, which you think are rather silly. [BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ] □ My boys have always been faddy eaters.
fade ◆◇◇ /fe I d/ (fades , fading , faded )
1 VERB When a coloured object fades or when the light fades it, it gradually becomes paler. □ [V ] All colour fades–especially under the impact of direct sunlight. □ [V n] No matter how soft the light is, it still fades curtains in every room. □ [V -ing] …fading portraits of the Queen and Prince Philip. ● fad|ed ADJ □ …a girl in a faded dress. □ …faded painted signs on the sides of some of the buildings.
2 VERB When light fades , it slowly becomes less bright. When a sound fades , it slowly becomes less loud. □ [V ] Seaton lay on his bed and gazed at the ceiling as the light faded. □ [V + into ] The sound of the last bomber's engines faded into the distance.
3 VERB When something that you are looking at fades , it slowly becomes less bright or clear until it disappears. □ [V + from ] They observed the comet for 70 days before it faded from sight. □ [V + into ] They watched the familiar mountains fade into the darkness. ● PHRASAL VERB Fade away means the same as fade . □ [V P + into ] We watched the harbour and then the coastline fade away into the morning mist. [Also V P ]