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.

---

capital-intensive Cultural  

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

---

Etymology

Origin of capital-intensive

First recorded in 1955–60

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

capital-intensive

And while they share obvious similarities as innovation-driven, capital-intensive infrastructure build-outs, Smith argues that their differences are far more pronounced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Should investors give more weight to the capital-intensive AI business, or the steadily growing internet-service arm?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Interest-rate-sensitive, capital-intensive business sectors are likely to keep feeling the pain of higher interest rates.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

Critics of CoreWeave have pointed to the company’s capital-intensive business model, which requires it to take on large amounts of debt to build new data centers.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 80% of budgetary revenues.

From The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---