The Rice University Neologisms Database

A type of reorganization of a section of computer code where other sections referencing the current section must be changed in order for the final result to make sense (renaming a function). Usually a fairly mechanical procedure. Factoring an algebra expression is an analagous procedure that reorganizes the expression to say the same thing in a different way. In the course of factoring, the entire expression must be re-written (you cannot just simply add a factor in front). The term “refactor” logically extends this notion from math to computer programming.