manufacture

American  

[man-yuh-fak-cher, man-uh-] / ˌmæn yəˈfæk tʃər, ˌmæn ə- /

noun

1. the making of goods or wares by manual labor or by machinery, especially on a large scale.

   the manufacture of television sets.

2. the making or producing of anything; generation.

   the manufacture of body cells.

3. the thing or material manufactured; product.

   Plastic is an important manufacture.

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verb (used with object)

manufactures, present (3rd person singular) manufactured, past participle, past manufacturing present participle

1. to make or produce by hand or machinery, especially on a large scale.

   Synonyms:

   build

2. to work up (material) into form for use.

   to manufacture cotton.

3. to invent fictitiously; fabricate; concoct.

   to manufacture an account of the incident.

4. to produce in a mechanical way without inspiration or originality.

   to manufacture a daily quota of poetry.

manufacture British  

/ ˌmænjʊˈfæktʃə /

verb

1. to process or make (a product) from a raw material, esp as a large-scale operation using machinery

2. (tr) to invent or concoct

   to manufacture an excuse

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noun

1. the production of goods, esp by industrial processes

2. a manufactured product

3. the creation or production of anything

Synonym Usage

Manufacture, assemble, fabricate apply to processes in industry. Manufacture, originally to make by hand, now means to make by machine or by industrial process: to manufacture rubber tires. To assemble is to fit together the manufactured parts of something mechanical: to assemble an automobile. To fabricate is to construct or build by fitting standardized parts together: to fabricate houses. See also make ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unmanufacturable
  adjective
• premanufacture
  verb (used with object)
• manufactural
  adjective
• nonmanufactured
  adjective
• nonmanufacturing
  noun
• manufacturable
  adjective
• well-manufactured
  adjective
• semimanufactured
  adjective
• semimanufacturing
  noun
• nonmanufacture
  noun
• manufacturing
  noun
• unmanufactured
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has manufactured
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have manufactured
  perfect
• are manufacturing
  progressive
• am manufacturing
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been manufacturing
  perfect progressive
• is manufacturing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• has been manufacturing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• manufacturing
  participle
• manufactures
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had manufactured
  perfect
• had been manufacturing
  perfect progressive
• was manufacturing
  progressive singular
• were manufacturing
  progressive plural
• manufactured
  simple
• manufactured
  participle

Future

• will manufacture
  simple
• will have manufactured
  perfect
• will be manufacturing
  progressive
• will have been manufacturing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of manufacture

First recorded in 1560–70; from Middle French manufacture “the action or process of making; a factory,” equivalent to Latin manū “by hand”, ablative singular of manus “hand” + Middle French facture “making, construction” (from Late Latin factūra “action of creating, a creation, piece of handiwork,” from Latin factūra “act of fashioning; metal working,” a derivative of facere “to make, do”); the verb is derivative of the noun

Explanation

To manufacture something, is to make or construct it, usually for industry and sale. Unless you make all your own clothes, a company probably had to manufacture them. Manufacture is generally associated with industry and factories. Henry Ford, for instance, revolutionized industry by using assembly lines to manufacture Model Ts. But manufacture can also be used for the natural word, like bees that manufacture honey. Occasionally it use used more generally to mean to construct by putting parts together. And in a pinch, you can manufacture — or make — the truth, which is a creative way to say “lie.”

Example Sentences

Companies and government officials say they want to build processing plants that can separate rare earths, produce metals and eventually manufacture magnets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

It noted that energy accounts for 60% of the costs associated with data centers, while the manufacture of semiconductors requires helium—and a third of the world’s supply of that gas comes from the Gulf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

This may have led to a buildup of heat in a pressurized tank filled with 7,000 gallons of a chemical called methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable liquid monomer used to manufacture plastics.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

“We can choose the portfolio of alloys that we want to manufacture and obviously drive that toward a higher and higher profit portfolio,” John Huyette, Carpenter’s vice president of investor relations, tells Barron’s.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

Gemmules secreted by the hand carried the instructions to manufacture a new hand; gemmules dispersed by the ear transmitted the code to build a new ear.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• assemble
• complete
• construct
• create
• fabricate
• mass-produce
• synthesize