factory

American  

[fak-tuh-ree, -tree] / ˈfæk tə ri, -tri /

noun

factories plural

1. a building or group of buildings with facilities for the manufacture of goods.

2. any place producing a uniform product, without concern for individuality.

   They call it a law school, but it's just a degree factory.

3. (formerly) an establishment for factors and merchants carrying on business in a foreign country.

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factory British  

/ ˈfæktərɪ /

noun

1. 1. a building or group of buildings containing a plant assembly for the manufacture of goods

   2. ( as modifier )

      a factory worker

2. rare a trading station maintained by factors in a foreign country

3. (formerly) a main trading station for the exchange and transshipment of furs

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subfactory
  noun
• factory-like
  adjective
• factorylike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• factories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of factory

From the Medieval Latin word factōria, dating back to 1550–60. See factor, -y ³

Explanation

A factory is a big building in which products are made, like Willie Wonka's fictional Chocolate Factory, which was famous for producing (among other sweets and treats) the one-of-a-kind Everlasting Gobstopper. Early relatives of the word factory were in use as far back as the 1500s, long before the Industrial Revolution made the modern idea of a factory a reality. Of course, a big building with many different types of machinery inside it isn't the only definition of a factory. A successful pop group that scores several number one songs in a row could be called "a hit factory."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

factory factories

Sarah earns £24,000 working part-time in insurance and Lee worked in maintenance at the same factory for 27 years, earning about £26,000, before being made redundant four years ago.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

But it has said it plans to deploy Atlas by 2028 at its nonunionized “Metaplant” factory complex in Georgia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Robotic transporters carrying silicon wafers whizz by on overhead rails at a new factory that Kioxia, one of Japan's most valuable companies, hopes can help it meet overwhelming AI-driven demand.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

In June, Lucid began implementing a plan that it said would save the company $158 million by laying off 18% of its U.S. workforce and eliminating a shift at its factory in Arizona.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

In the robot factory I camouflaged my personality to survive.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Asked about potential Chinese takeovers of German car factories, Merz responded: "The individual companies have to decide whether they want this or not."

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Both are leading indicators that likely point to continued acceleration in manufacturing activity in the U.S., as more factories come on-line, Semenuk said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

She expects Hyundai’s deployment of Atlas to serve as an early test of whether humanoids can work as intended in real-life factories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

The only way fewer workers can sustain high living standards is for each worker to become more productive—and productivity is built on capital investment in innovation, machines, research and factories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The background was dominated everywhere by big, prisonlike factories, all of which appeared to be shut.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• branch
• cooperative
• firm
• industry
• laboratory
• mill
• shop
• workshop