Jump To:

• industrial revolution
  industrial revolution

  noun

  none the industrial revolution or the Industrial Revolution the totality of the changes in economic and social organization that began about 1760 in England and later in other countries, characterized chiefly by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines, such as the power loom and the steam engine, and by the concentration of industry in large establishments.
• Industrial Revolution
  Industrial Revolution

  noun

  the transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries of first Britain and then other W European countries and the US into industrial nations

industrial revolution

American  

[in-duhs-tree-uhl rev-uh-loo-shuhn] / ɪnˈdʌs tri əl ˌrɛv əˈlu ʃən /

noun

1. none the industrial revolution or the Industrial Revolution the totality of the changes in economic and social organization that began about 1760 in England and later in other countries, characterized chiefly by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines, such as the power loom and the steam engine, and by the concentration of industry in large establishments.

2. any period of change to the economic and social organization of a country, region, etc., that is characterized by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines and the concentration of industry in large establishments.

---

Industrial Revolution British  

noun

1. the transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries of first Britain and then other W European countries and the US into industrial nations

---

Industrial Revolution Cultural  

1. The rapid industrial growth that began in England during the middle of the eighteenth century and then spread over the next 50 years to many other countries, including the United States. The revolution depended on devices such as the steam engine (see James Watt), which were invented at a rapidly increasing rate during the period. The Industrial Revolution brought on a rapid concentration of people in cities and changed the nature of work for many people. (See Luddites.)

---

Etymology

Origin of industrial revolution

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

industrial revolution Industrial Revolution

"From my point of view, this is an industrial revolution, almost like the introduction of engines or, back then, the steam engine," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

One of the exhibition's central stories focuses on the peppered moth, which adapted during the industrial revolution by developing darker colouring to blend in with soot-covered buildings.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

“From a macro perspective, the AI industrial revolution continues,” Thummel told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026

By the late 19th century, the industrial revolution had produced business barons commanding disproportionate wealth, a newly conscious working class, trade unions, and socialist parties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

We not only take it for granted—we tend to talk about the biologic revolution as though expecting to make profits from it, rather like a version of last century’s industrial revolution.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

In another virtual address to the ministers, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis said the achievement of human-level AI would unleash ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

But the Industrial Revolution allowed for wider production, making dolls' houses cheaper and more accessible for families.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

The city was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, in which Britain led the world through the dynamism of its capitalist system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Global average temperatures have already increased by about 1.1 to 1.4 °C since the Industrial Revolution.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

Much as the Industrial Revolution changed the environment for moths, farming changed the environment for plants.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond