All 11 Uses of

factor
in
Do You Speak American?

The war between the two camps has blazed up with particular belligerence in our times, as language issues engaged social conservatives and liberals and became a factor in the so-called culture wars.†
Chpt 1

factor = thing that affects a result or outcome

Where one fits on the prescriptivist/descriptivist spectrum is probably determined by many factors, including education, temperament, and general outlook on life—and age.†
Chpt 1

factors = things that affect a result or outcome

Another factor in changing our language is a quality every visitor to America notices: speed.†
Chpt 1

factor = thing that affects a result or outcome

Another Factor: Local Pride and Identity So—mysterious forces within society, operating beneath consciousness, are driving significant language change, making Americans from one region harder for others to understand at a time when other mass trends in our society are toward conformity.†
Chpt 2

Some believe that Midland speech acquired its prestige as a reaction to two factors: the large increase in European immigration early in the twentieth century, just as the hitherto limitless abundance of free land in the West came to an end.†
Chpt 3

factors = things that affect a result or outcome

Another factor is twenty-four-hour news on cable TV and radio, where much of the reporting is done ad lib, making acceptable the values of spoken language, discursive and colloquial, an intellectual exercise different from that demanded in written reportage.†
Chpt 3

factor = thing that affects a result or outcome

Although other factors may be involved, the census data from 1990 and 2000 appear to document what she observes.†
Chpt 5 *

factors = things that affect a result or outcome

But language may also be a factor in perpetuating the social morbidity—for instance, why 27 percent of blacks fail to graduate from high school, compared with 16 percent of whites; and why only 14 percent of blacks get a college degree, compared with 26 percent of whites.†
Chpt 6

factor = thing that affects a result or outcome

There is still a dispute, too specialized for nonlinguists like us, over whether the Creole theory of black linguistic development means there is a deeply embedded structure in black language or whether, in Cukor-Avila's words, "factors such as education, age, and social class were also significant in determining linguistic choices.†
Chpt 6

factors = things that affect a result or outcome

One factor important to Jesse Sheidlower is that "American English has always been very inclusive of new terms.†
Chpt 1

So—there is an evident, self-conscious class factor in how people wish their speech to be perceived.†
Chpt 3

Definitions:

(1) (factor as in: It was the deciding factor.)
something that affects a result or outcome

You also may encounter x-factor or x factor--meaning "the most important thing that influences a result or outcome."
(2) (factor as in: factor it into your thinking)
include consideration of
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

See a comprehensive dictionary for other meanings. Less common meanings include one that has to do with units of measurement. More specialized meanings are used in fields including mathematics, business, finance, biology, and grammar.