prime factor

American  

[prahym fak-ter] / ˈpraɪm ˈfæk tər /

noun

1. a prime number that is a factor of another number.

   The prime factors of 18 are 2 and 3.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. Sometimes prime-factor to resolve (a number) into the prime numbers that are its factors.

   This short video shows how to prime factor a number using a tree diagram.

adjective

1. Sometimes prime-factor relating to or involving prime factors.

   Write out the prime factor expansion for each of the following numbers.

Other Word Forms

• prime factorize verb
• prime-factorize verb

Etymology

Origin of prime factor

First recorded in 1725–35

Example Sentences

The high cost of living is a prime factor in the ongoing exodus of many Californians, and also may help explain the relatively lackluster mood of people in the state.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2024

For the first time in years it could be a prime factor in who voters pick as their next mayor.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 10, 2021

By matching up the common primes, each common prime factor is used only once.

From Textbooks • Apr. 22, 2020

Hampton, a quintessential plugger, is the prime factor in this perennially staunch run defense.

From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2010

It is somewhat remarkable that the enormous importance of this argument in favour of natural selection as a prime factor of organic evolution has not received the attention which it deserves.

From Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol. 1 and 3, of 3) An Exposition of the Darwinian Theory and a Discussion of Post-Darwinian Questions by Romanes, George John