capital-intensive

American  

[kap-i-tl-in-ten-siv] / ˈkæp ɪ tl ɪnˈtɛn sɪv /

adjective

1. requiring or using a very large amount of capital relative to the need for or use of labor.

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capital-intensive Cultural  

1. A term describing industries that employ relatively few laborers but that use expensive equipment. (Compare labor-intensive.)

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Etymology

Origin of capital-intensive

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

capital-intensive

It is capital-intensive but can be highly profitable: Amazon’s cloud unit, Amazon Web Services, on Thursday reported a 39% operating profit margin in the second quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Most hyperscalers shifted to capital-intensive from asset-light business models only recently, so historical data isn’t all that helpful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Their goal is to secure the billions of dollars required for their capital-intensive projects to build artificial general intelligence, a broadly capable computer system that is smarter than humans at all cognitive work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

That business has proven to be a key source of cash for the capital-intensive company as well.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

The development of an export market for natural   gas is a bright spot for future growth prospects, but improvement in   the capital-intensive hydrocarbons sector does little to reduce   Egypt's persistent unemployment.

From The 2004 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency