industrial
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, of the nature of, or resulting from industry.
industrial production; industrial waste.
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having many and highly developed industries.
an industrial nation.
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engaged in an industry or industries.
industrial workers.
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of or relating to the workers in industries.
industrial training.
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used in industry.
industrial diamonds: industrial fabrics.
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noting or pertaining to industrial life insurance.
adjective
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of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of industry
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employed in industry
the industrial workforce
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relating to or concerned with workers in industry
industrial conditions
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used in industry
industrial chemicals
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of industrial
Explanation
Something industrial has to do with industry or factories. If you're taking a stroll alone at night, avoid the industrial areas — there aren't many people around after business hours and it can be kind of spooky. Industrial, besides meaning "having to do with industry," has also come to mean "tough," capable of withstanding wear and tear. If you're carpeting your home, avoid industrial carpet. It's easy to clean but not so soft. An industrial nation is a developed nation with manufacturing as part of its economy. If you work in the industrial sector, as opposed to say the arts sector, you work in manufacturing.
Vocabulary lists containing industrial
Eastern Europe - Introductory
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East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I’d like to report that these ideas about women’s domestic responsibilities have since retired to the church basement, alongside the folding chairs and industrial coffee urns.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
LONDON—On a quiet industrial estate, engineers at British startup Rivan Industries are working to perfect a system to produce synthetic natural gas from water, sunlight and air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Having a development corporation in a central London semi-residential location would be unprecedented, with the method only previously being used to convert brownfield industrial areas at the Olympic Park and Old Oak Common.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
The figures will shed light on earnings pressures facing industrial businesses and their capacity to invest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Moreover, most people in agricultural and industrial societies lived in dense, unhygienic permanent settlements—ideal hotbeds for disease.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
