industry

American  

[in-duh-stree] / ˈɪn də stri /

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.

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industry British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of industry

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

Explanation

An industry is a group of manufacturers or businesses that produce a particular kind of goods or services. Workers in the textile industry design, fabricate, and sell cloth. The tourist industry includes all the commercial aspects of tourism. You can use industry to refer to a group of similar businesses: The automobile industry makes cars and car parts. The food service industry prepares food and delivers it to hotels, schools, and other big facilities. Industry comes from the Latin industria, which means "diligence, hard work," and the word is still used with that meaning. If you build a house in three weeks, when the same job takes everyone else three months, you're showing impressive industry.

Example Sentences

The rush toward for-profit schools concerns some in the industry, which has been the subject of federal scrutiny for many years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

But that same uncertainty has left even investors far afield of the energy industry parsing feeds of oil-tanker traffic and U.S. troop movements.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Troubles within the hospice industry continue despite highly publicized enforcement efforts by state and federal officials, experts say.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

While the amount being paid out is going up, the consumer group Which is concerned about what it calls "shady stuff going on in the industry".

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

The subprime mortgage industry Eisman once knew better than anyone on the planet had been a negligible corner of the capital markets.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

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