factory
Americannoun
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a building or group of buildings with facilities for the manufacture of goods.
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any place producing a uniform product, without concern for individuality.
They call it a law school, but it's just a degree factory.
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(formerly) an establishment for factors and merchants carrying on business in a foreign country.
noun
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a building or group of buildings containing a plant assembly for the manufacture of goods
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( as modifier )
a factory worker
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rare a trading station maintained by factors in a foreign country
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(formerly) a main trading station for the exchange and transshipment of furs
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing factory
Make Do: Fac
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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Russia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The set piece is a daring, madcap, Wes Anderson-esque romp through San Francisco all the way to the Metro Designers factory in China, where worker conditions are grim and hazardous.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
Detroit automakers and other companies have laid off thousands of UAW-represented factory workers in the past year.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif., which it acquired from Toyota in 2010, currently makes Model Y and Model 3 electric vehicles and is expected to produce Optimus humanoid robots.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
The company did not specify which of its 14 brands would start producing its "E-Cars" at Stellantis's Pomigliano d'Arco factory near Naples in Italy.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
In the robot factory I camouflaged my personality to survive.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
