Advertisement
Advertisement
industrial revolution
[ in-duhs-tree-uhl rev-uh-loo-shuhn ]
noun
- none the industrial revolution or the Industrial Revolution, the totality of the changes in economic and social organization that began about 1760 in England and later in other countries, characterized chiefly by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines, such as the power loom and the steam engine, and by the concentration of industry in large establishments.
- any period of change to the economic and social organization of a country, region, etc., that is characterized by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines and the concentration of industry in large establishments.
Industrial Revolution
noun
- the Industrial Revolutionthe Industrial Revolution the transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries of first Britain and then other W European countries and the US into industrial nations
Industrial Revolution
- The rapid industrial growth that began in England during the middle of the eighteenth century and then spread over the next 50 years to many other countries, including the United States. The revolution depended on devices such as the steam engine ( see James Watt ), which were invented at a rapidly increasing rate during the period. The Industrial Revolution brought on a rapid concentration of people in cities and changed the nature of work for many people. ( See Luddites .)
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of industrial revolution1
Discover More
Example Sentences
As machines and factories set the sound and rhythm of Europe, the industrial revolution and the inventions of audio recording and radio transmission added new dimensions to the use of noise in music.
Colonialism and the industrial revolution created a global extraction economy with little regard for the natural systems that sustain all life.
Addressing the housing shortage would “do more than any one thing to prevent the industrial revolution which threatens our country,” claimed one proponent of federal intervention.
“Not since the industrial revolution have managers and leaders had to think about work design,” says Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM chief human resources officer.
So this is 3000 times more impact than the industrial revolution.
The Industrial Revolution and Victorian practically erased the holiday in England.
The folk memory of medieval community life had been wiped out by the industrial revolution.
Accessibility to other ways of life was part of the monumental lifestyle shift enabled by the Industrial Revolution.
Harris pointed out that until the Industrial Revolution, foreigners had nothing but praise for the quality of the food in England.
It all started with the Industrial Revolution: machine displaced man.
The conditions of industry changed and, as must ever be the case, industrial revolution brought suffering on the poor.
How mighty a force this industrial revolution was to exert on English politics and English society time was to show.
They have taken their rise and form subsequent to the industrial revolution wrought by steam and as a result of that revolution.
As the Industrial Revolution went on, a great gulf opened between employer and employed.
Meantime, starting in this decade yet especially developing from 1885 to 1895, began the industrial revolution of the South.
Advertisement
Discover More
More About Industrial Revolution
What is the Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution is the rapid period of economic and social change that began in Britain around 1760 and was fueled by technology and invention. The Industrial Revolution led to the rise of industry, factories, and manufacturing.
Prior to 1760, goods were produced mostly by individuals using tools. For example, a shoemaker would make shoes with their hands and simple tools. A weaver wove threads into cloth on a loom they manipulated with their hands. Most people worked on farms, however, and wealth was determined by the amount of land a person owned.
In the late 1700s, British inventions such as the steam engine, water jenny, and powered loom allowed goods to be produced more quickly by machine than by hand. These inventions led to the creation of factories where laborers operated machinery rather than making the goods themselves. Too, steam-powered boats and trains meant food and goods could be transported quicker.
The Industrial Revolution led people to move away from farms to cities, where they could work in factories and more food was available for purchase. Many people no longer had to grow their own food and make their own goods to survive. They could work a machine for pay and use the pay to buy the things they needed. The factory system allowed goods to be made so quickly that countries actually had surpluses and were able to trade with each other.
As a result, business owners were becoming extremely wealthy and political power shifted away from landowners to rich merchants and businesspeople. By the middle of the 1800s, Europe and the United States had notably shifted from agricultural nations to capitalist countries built on manufacturing and industry.
Why is industrial revolution important?
The first records of the term Industrial Revolution come from around 1840. The phrase combines the word industrial, which describes something as related to manufacturing, and the word revolution in the sense of “rapid or sudden change.” The Industrial Revolution was a period of many inventions and advances in manufacturing, which led to sudden, widespread change in economics and society as a whole.
The shift from farming to industry that occurred during the Industrial Revolution made a lot of people rich. It also led to advances in banking, transportation, long-distance communication, and other industries. Suddenly, science and technology were very important to both business and society.
The Industrial Revolution had long-lasting, negative effects as well. Economic classes became further and further apart from each other. Long hours and unsafe working conditions caused anger and unrest among the many laborers. This later caused economic thinkers like Karl Marx to oppose this new system of the wealthy elite oppressing the poor laborer. Marx and thinkers like him created and spread the political idea of communism in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Did you know … ?
Modern historians argue that the Industrial Revolution was later followed by a second American Industrial Revolution that occurred in the late 1800s. This second revolution would lead to plastic and electricity replacing iron and steam. This revolution would continue into the late 1900s with the rise of computers.
What are real-life examples of Industrial Revolution?
More than 200 years later, the Industrial Revolution is remembered as a pivotal period of innovation that changed the world.
9yo: I know how we can get warp technology in 2020
9yo: I just have to invent a time machine
9yo: go back to the medieval period and give them the things they need to do to start the industrial revolution early
9yo: then when I come back to 2020 we’ll have starships!— Anne Thériault (@anne_theriault) August 23, 2020
My sixth grader is writing a report on the industrial revolution.
Me: “Interestingly, sociology has its roots in trying to understand how the industrial revolution changed society.”
Sixth grader: <walks away>
— Kevin Shafer (@shafer_soc) April 22, 2020
What other words are related to Industrial Revolution?
Quiz yourself!
True or False?
The Industrial Revolution led to people moving away from farms to work at factories and live in urban cities.
Word of the Day
[tawr-choo-uhs ]
Meaning and examplesStart each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!
By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse