industrial

[in-duhs-tree-uhl]

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, of the nature of, or resulting from industry.

   industrial production; industrial waste.

2. having many and highly developed industries.

   an industrial nation.

3. engaged in an industry or industries.

   industrial workers.

4. of or relating to the workers in industries.

   industrial training.

5. used in industry.

   industrial diamonds: industrial fabrics.

6. noting or pertaining to industrial life insurance.

noun

1. an industrial product.

   diamonds classed as industrials and nonindustrials.

2. a company engaged in industrial enterprises.

3. an employee in some industry, especially a manufacturing industry.

4. industrials, stocks and bonds of industrial companies.

industrial

/ ɪnˈdʌstrɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of industry

2. employed in industry

   the industrial workforce

3. relating to or concerned with workers in industry

   industrial conditions

4. used in industry

   industrial chemicals

Other Word Forms

• industrially adverb
• industrialness noun
• nonindustrial adjective
• nonindustrially adverb
• preindustrial adjective
• proindustrial adjective
• quasi-industrial adjective
• quasi-industrially adverb
• semi-industrial adjective
• semi-industrially adverb
• unindustrial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of industrial¹

First recorded in 1580–90; industry + -al ¹

Example Sentences

But unlike during the Cold War, the U.S. must prepare for two peer rivals rather than one—at a time when it has lost its clear industrial and economic edge.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Although modern lead exposure is mostly linked to industrial activities, it continues to pose a serious health threat, especially for children.

Read more on Science Daily

Early offices were designed to centralize access to the explosion of paper documents from thriving industries like insurance, and to enable the supervision of workers, much like factories did for industrial labor.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

During the summer Mr Boys Smith visited Clamart in France, a suburb seven miles from Paris that was once an industrial site.

Read more on BBC

Europe prospered over recent decades in a global trading system that allowed it to import cheap gas from Russia and rare earths from China, powering its industrial base.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• industrialized www.thesaurus.com
• mechanical 
• modern 
• technical