Talk:factor out

@Kiwima: Hello. This thread says factor out also means "to factorise". Two questions:

• would this be a good example of the second sense of factorise: $x(a+b)+y(a+b)=(a+b)(x+y)$? And what does the first sense mean exactly?
• is factor out indeed a synonym of factorise in its second sense? --Per utramque cavernam (talk) 17:51, 24 April 2018 (UTC)

--- @Per utramque cavernam Hi.

• The first sense of factorise is to list all the factors. That is, for example, I could factorise 12 by producing the list 1,2,3,4,6,12. The second sense would be to say that 12 = 3 x 4. (or to say it is 2 x 6, or ...)
• As I understand it, factor out is slightly different, and is more in line with the example you gave. I will add a definition.

Kiwima (talk) 20:49, 24 April 2018 (UTC)

@Kiwima: Thanks! Your examples make the definitions much clearer. factor is yet another verb though; am I right to infer from your message that it has the same senses as factorise?

Ok, so factor out was exactly the translation of mettre en évidence (fr) I was looking for. Does it have synonyms? --Per utramque cavernam (talk) 21:10, 24 April 2018 (UTC)

@Per utramque cavernam: Yes, I would consider factor to be a synonym of factorise. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a synonym for factor out. Kiwima (talk) 21:19, 24 April 2018 (UTC)