The Clue
Components (7 letter answer)
The Answer
FACTORS
Tags
Notes
The answer FACTORS is so rare that it appears less than once every 2500 puzzles.
Related Clues
Causative elements
2 and 3, to 6
Definition
FACTOR as a noun:
1. anything that contributes causally to a result; "a number of factors determined the outcome"
2. (component, constituent, element, factor, ingredient) = an abstract part of something; "jealousy was a component of his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an effective ingredient of a speech"
3. any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together
4. (divisor, factor) = one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?"
5. (agent, factor, broker) = a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission
6. an independent variable in statistics
7. (gene, cistron, factor) = (genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity; "genes were formerly called factors"
FACTOR as a verb:
1. (factor, factor in, factor out) = resolve into factors; "a quantum computer can factor the number 15"