The phrase "a factor that defines" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing elements that contribute to the characterization or determination of something.
Example: "In our study, we identified a factor that defines the success of the marketing strategy."
Alternatives: "an element that determines" or "a component that shapes".
Here, it's kind of 'Here are the keys, good luck, you're on your own.'" That's a key factor that defines the difference between the WWII veterans who attended college and today's veterans.
These findings support other literature work in the claim that crystallinity is not a primary factor that defines plant biomass recalcitrance.
FGF2 is also implicated in the induction of olig2 (44), a transcription factor that defines the motor neuron progenitor domain of the ventrolateral neural tube, from where motor neurons and oligodendrocytes are sequentially generated (31); we identified, at Stage 40, a modest upregulation of olig2.
Recent work has suggested that the type I interferon response (specifically that of interferon alpha and beta) is an important factor that defines which types of cells support poliovirus replication.
Two most important parameters are optimized, i.e., the f factor that defines a portion of the received frame where the BER is measured and the set of adaptive scheme of the rest of the frame is updated, and the k factor which defines a distance between upper and lower BER thresholds of the adaptive algorithm.
The same basic ratio holds true for digital cameras, with a crucial exception: the basic light sensitivity -- the factor that defines I.S.O.
East Ventures is one of the region's longest-serving seed investors, having been active since 2010, and it is one of the few to have actually returned funds — the ultimate factor that defines success in VC land.
College students spend so much time being college students that sometimes it seems as though that is the sole factor that defines you.
