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)

manufactured, manufacturing

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

Related Words

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

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

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

Example Sentences

Big Bots: OpenAI’s former chief research officer is raising $70 million for a new startup building an AI and software platform to automate manufacturing, according to people familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal

The government data showed the that sectors contributing most to the payroll decline in February included healthcare, manufacturing, construction and transport — and not those typically associated with facing AI disruption.

From MarketWatch

February’s losses were broad-based, hitting sectors that had shown some signs of improvement in early 2026, like professional and business services, construction and manufacturing jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Ohio One remains a critical component to Intel’s long-term plans to advance U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership,” the company said in a statement to the Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s true that the U.S. economy shed a net five million manufacturing jobs in the years that followed, but even the “China shock” analysis attributes only one million of those to expanding trade with China.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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