manufacture
Americannoun
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the making of goods or wares by manual labor or by machinery, especially on a large scale.
the manufacture of television sets.
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the making or producing of anything; generation.
the manufacture of body cells.
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the thing or material manufactured; product.
Plastic is an important manufacture.
verb (used with object)
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to make or produce by hand or machinery, especially on a large scale.
- Synonyms:
- build
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to work up (material) into form for use.
to manufacture cotton.
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to invent fictitiously; fabricate; concoct.
to manufacture an account of the incident.
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to produce in a mechanical way without inspiration or originality.
to manufacture a daily quota of poetry.
verb
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to process or make (a product) from a raw material, esp as a large-scale operation using machinery
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(tr) to invent or concoct
to manufacture an excuse
noun
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the production of goods, esp by industrial processes
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a manufactured product
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the creation or production of anything
Synonym Usage
Manufacture, assemble, fabricate apply to processes in industry. Manufacture, originally to make by hand, now means to make by machine or by industrial process: to manufacture rubber tires. To assemble is to fit together the manufactured parts of something mechanical: to assemble an automobile. To fabricate is to construct or build by fitting standardized parts together: to fabricate houses. See also make 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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manufacturingnoun
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nonmanufacturenoun
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nonmanufacturingnoun
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semimanufacturingnoun
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premanufactureverb (used with object)
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manufacturableadjective
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manufacturaladjective
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nonmanufacturedadjective
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semimanufacturedadjective
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unmanufacturableadjective
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unmanufacturedadjective
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well-manufacturedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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manufacturesimple
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manufacturessimple
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have manufacturedperfect
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has manufacturedperfect
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am manufacturingprogressive
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are manufacturingprogressive
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is manufacturingprogressive
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have been manufacturingperfect progressive
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has been manufacturingperfect progressive
Past
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manufacturedsimple
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had manufacturedperfect
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was manufacturingprogressive
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were manufacturingprogressive
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had been manufacturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of manufacture
First recorded in 1560–70; from Middle French manufacture “the action or process of making; a factory,” equivalent to Latin manū “by hand”, ablative singular of manus “hand” + Middle French facture “making, construction” (from Late Latin factūra “action of creating, a creation, piece of handiwork,” from Latin factūra “act of fashioning; metal working,” a derivative of facere “to make, do”); the verb is derivative of the noun
Explanation
To manufacture something, is to make or construct it, usually for industry and sale. Unless you make all your own clothes, a company probably had to manufacture them. Manufacture is generally associated with industry and factories. Henry Ford, for instance, revolutionized industry by using assembly lines to manufacture Model Ts. But manufacture can also be used for the natural word, like bees that manufacture honey. Occasionally it use used more generally to mean to construct by putting parts together. And in a pinch, you can manufacture — or make — the truth, which is a creative way to say “lie.”
Vocabulary lists containing manufacture
Make Do: Fac
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Automobiles
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The Industrial Revolution - 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.
See Examples For:
This form of biohacking can turn the host into a biological production system, allowing it to manufacture larger amounts of the desired chemical for further study and development.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
The budget MacBook has faced such high global demand that the company can’t manufacture enough.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026
The company has taken a unique approach to robotaxi development since its founding in 2014 by choosing to manufacture a purpose-built robotaxi at its own facility in California.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Several robotics companies already manufacture some humanoid robots in the United States, including Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Figure AI and Agility Robotics.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
It would continue to manufacture new cars and issue its annual report.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
The deal with Russia’s Arnest Management, which manufactures cosmetics and household goods, is expected to complete during the second half of 2026, Reckitt said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Strong demand for AI systems pushed up sales forecasts and drove a gain in second-quarter profits Wednesday at Dutch tech giant ASML, which manufactures chip-making machines to power the tech industry.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Jinjiang, in the province of Fujian, is often referred to as China's "shoe capital" as it reportedly manufactures 20% of the world's sports shoes.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Micron still manufactures its chips at a fab in Japan today, as well as at sites across the world — including in Taiwan, Singapore and, soon, at home in Boise.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026
District 2 not only manufactures weaponry, it trains and even supplies Peacekeepers.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
The investigation did not establish that the virus was intentionally manufactured or released.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
The FDA reviewers said they couldn’t tell whether tumor responses came from RP1 itself or from a drug manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb it was paired with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Last year, there had been concerns the company's models, which are manufactured at its headquarters in Nottingham, would be hit by US president Donald Trump's tariffs.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Most humanoid robots sold in the US are manufactured abroad, particularly in China.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
“He was a manufactured product,” he said at last.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
However, India will need to think of a new industrial policy to focus on reviving overall manufacturing, he adds.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
A private gauge showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in July, remaining in expansion territory and broadly echoing the official factory survey, which signaled a contraction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing survey for July is due at 10 a.m., along with construction spending.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
This is because workers in a fast industrialising economy typically move out of agriculture into services or manufacturing as seen across the world.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
We crossed into Levittown from New Jersey, and on the bridge over the Delaware, I slowed down and pointed out the manufacturing plants up and down the river where the jobs used to be.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
