heavy industry

American  

[he-vee in-duh-stree] / ˈhɛ vi ˈɪn də stri /

noun

heavy industries plural

1. a manufacturing sector or activity that uses relatively large amounts of power, equipment, and space, typically having a significant environmental impact and producing raw materials or large-scale industrial goods such as steel, cement, or chemicals (contrasted with light industry).

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• heavy industrial
  adjective
• heavy-industry
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heavy industries
  plural

Example Sentences

Sulfuric acid is used to produce phosphate fertilizers, and it is more prevalently used higher up the supply chain by heavy industry to make food, metals, paper, computer chips and clean water.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

An 85-mile stretch of Louisiana, running southeast from Baton Rouge, hosts such a concentration of heavy industry that it long ago garnered the nickname “Cancer Alley.”

From Salon • May 10, 2026

The renewed surge in energy prices is a particular burden for Germany's heavy industry, in sectors ranging from steel to chemicals, which was also struggling with weak demand in export markets and fierce Chinese competition.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

"A lot of people think that asbestos is a historical problem caused by heavy industry, Rick's case really does prove that's not the case," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

This territory contained a quarter of Russia’s population, a third of its agricultural land, and about half of its heavy industry.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman