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

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

The capital-intensive OCI shift led to a 68% rise in debt to $162 billion and a projected drop in operating margin to 43%.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

By 2031, CFO Jason Child thinks Arm’s intellectual-property business could reach a 65% or so operating margin, while the more capital-intensive chip business could see a margin in the 35% range.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 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