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Definition of "factorial" [fac•to•ri•al]

  • The product of all the positive integers from 1 to a given number: 4 factorial, usually written 4!, is equal to 24 (1 × 2 × 3 × 4 = 24). (noun)
  • Of or relating to a factor or factorial. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "factorial" in a sentence
  • "AL CARDENAS, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: The types of injuries were multi-factorial, that is, head injuries, orthopedic injuries, abdominal, intra-abdominal injuries."
  • "The results of these studies have led to what is called the factorial hypothesis of heredity, [45] according to which all the visible characters of the adult are produced by (purely hypothetical) factors in the germ-plasm; it is the factors that are inherited, and they, under proper conditions for development, produce the characters."
  • "∗ The exclamation mark is called a factorial and represents the product of consecutive integers from 1 to the number before the factorial symbol."