production

American  

[pruh-duhk-shuhn] / prəˈdʌk ʃən /

noun

• productions
  plural

1. the act of producing; creation; manufacture.

2. something that is produced; a product.

3. Economics. the creation of value; the producing of articles having exchange value.

4. the total amount produced.

   Production is up this month.

5. a work of literature or art.

6. the act of presenting for display; presentation; exhibition.

   the production of evidence in support of the case.

   Synonyms:

   materialization, display, appearance, introduction

7. Informal. an unnecessarily or exaggeratedly complicated situation or activity.

   That child makes a production out of going to bed.

8. the organization and presentation of a dramatic entertainment.

9. the entertainment itself.

   an expensive production.

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adjective

1. regularly manufactured; not custom-made, specially produced, or experimental.

   a production model.

production British  

/ prəˈdʌkʃən /

noun

1. the act of producing

2. anything that is produced; product

3. the amount produced or the rate at which it is produced

4. economics the creation or manufacture for sale of goods and services with exchange value

5. any work created as a result of literary or artistic effort

6. the organization and presentation of a film, play, opera, etc

7. the artistic direction of a play

8. 1. the supervision of the arrangement, recording, and mixing of a record

   2. the overall sound quality or character of a recording

      the material is very strong but the production is poor

9. (modifier) manufactured by a mass-production process

   a production model of a car

10. informal to make an unnecessary fuss about

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonproduction
  noun
• superproduction
  noun
• productional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• productions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of production

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin prōductiōn-, stem of prōductiō “extension, lengthening”; equivalent to product + -ion

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Explanation

Production is the process of goods being made or manufactured. If people like the cupcakes you sell about school events, you might have to increase production by baking in both your kitchen and your neighbor's. Anything that's made or grown is the result of production, from the harvesting of grains, vegetables, and fruits to the drilling of oil. Even your crafty friend handles the production of the handmade bookmarks she sells. Another common meaning of production is the work that goes into the making of a movie, play, or album. From this meaning comes the phrase make a production of, to do something in an overly complicated, or theatrical, way.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

production productions

Proponents of AI see it as an antidote to high production costs and say it allows creatives to make films that otherwise would never be made.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

If the UK is outside the new rules, China could divert its excess car production to the UK, where, like Thailand, there are currently lower tariffs and even subsidies.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is expanding rocket production in Florida as it works to challenge SpaceX’s launch business.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

The company, which makes some of its drones in Ukraine, didn’t say when large-scale production would begin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

I don’t know why we insisted on making such a production of these dinners, because by the time Julian arrived we were invariably nervous and exhausted.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

The Research and Collections Centre holds more than 6,000 books on Shakespeare as well as early modern literature and drama, alongside the theatre's own archive of past productions.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

"It's not working for the Broadway productions that are interrupted by loud noise blaring from pedicabs outside their theaters," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The study from Washington-based consulting firm EY Quantitative Economics and Statistics also found that the U.S. share of major-studio spending on film productions similarly fell from 74% to 42% between 1999 and 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Production workers in Los Angeles have felt a double whammy as other states and countries have offered generous tax subsidies that have pulled productions from L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The bookshelves, window sills, radiators, and all other flat surfaces are piled high with anthologies of plays, copies of scripts, and videotapes and sound tracks of Broadway productions.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

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Related Words

• construction
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