industry

[in-duh-stree]

noun

plural

industries 

1. the aggregate of manufacturing or technically productive enterprises in a particular field, often named after its principal product.

   the automobile industry;

   the steel industry.

2. any general business activity; commercial enterprise.

   the Italian tourist industry.

3. trade or manufacture in general.

   the rise of industry in Africa.

4. the ownership and management of companies, factories, etc..

   friction between labor and industry.

5. systematic work or labor.

6. energetic, devoted activity at any work or task; diligence.

   Her teacher praised her industry.

   Synonyms: industriousness, assiduity, effort, application

7. the aggregate of work, scholarship, and ancillary activity in a particular field, often named after its principal subject.

   the Mozart industry.

8. Archaeology.,  an assemblage of artifacts regarded as unmistakably the work of a single prehistoric group.

industry

/ ˈɪndəstrɪ /

noun

1. organized economic activity concerned with manufacture, extraction and processing of raw materials, or construction

2. a branch of commercial enterprise concerned with the output of a specified product or service

   the steel industry

3. 1. industrial ownership and management interests collectively, as contrasted with labour interests

   2. manufacturing enterprise collectively, as opposed to agriculture

4. diligence; assiduity

Other Word Forms

• interindustry adjective
• mini-industry noun
• nonindustry adjective
• preindustry noun
• proindustry adjective
• subindustry noun
• superindustry noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of industry¹

First recorded in 1475–85; earlier industrie, from Latin industria, noun use of feminine of industrius “diligent, assiduous”; industrious

Word History and Origins

Origin of industry¹

C15: from Latin industria diligence, from industrius active, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

However, one industry source to the BBC that "it would be an entirely sensible decision" to delay publication.

Read more on BBC

Gross domestic product at the industry level edged up in September, according to advance data released Friday by the national statistics agency.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

AI represents one of the most powerful opportunities for the entertainment industry, he says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Services-producing industries also edged lower, the first decline in six months in part thanks to a flight attendants strike that weighed on air travel and the first fall in wholesale trade in four months.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Our locomotive fleet is now middle of the pack in the industry, and really importantly, we are much more efficient now in the way that we deploy and execute on our capital program,” executives say.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• business 
• commerce 
• corporation 
• management 
• production 
• trade