manufacture

American  

[man-yuh-fak-cher, man-uh-] / ˌmæn yəˈfæk tʃər, ˌmæn ə- /

noun

1. the making of goods or wares by manual labor or by machinery, especially on a large scale.

   the manufacture of television sets.

2. the making or producing of anything; generation.

   the manufacture of body cells.

3. the thing or material manufactured; product.

   Plastic is an important manufacture.

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verb (used with object)

manufactured, manufacturing

1. to make or produce by hand or machinery, especially on a large scale.

   Synonyms:

   build

2. to work up (material) into form for use.

   to manufacture cotton.

3. to invent fictitiously; fabricate; concoct.

   to manufacture an account of the incident.

4. to produce in a mechanical way without inspiration or originality.

   to manufacture a daily quota of poetry.

manufacture British  

/ ˌmænjʊˈfæktʃə /

verb

1. to process or make (a product) from a raw material, esp as a large-scale operation using machinery

2. (tr) to invent or concoct

   to manufacture an excuse

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noun

1. the production of goods, esp by industrial processes

2. a manufactured product

3. the creation or production of anything

Related Words

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

• manufacturable adjective
• manufactural adjective
• manufacturing noun
• nonmanufacture noun
• nonmanufactured adjective
• nonmanufacturing noun
• premanufacture verb (used with object)
• semimanufactured adjective
• semimanufacturing noun
• unmanufacturable adjective
• unmanufactured adjective
• well-manufactured adjective

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.”

Example Sentences

An Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone costs roughly $35,000 to manufacture.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

They have the potential to be smaller, more energy dense, more efficient, and easier to manufacture at scale.

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026

These include jet fuel, diesel, fertiliser ingredients and industrial products such as helium, essential for microchip manufacture.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Profits from King Cotton helped sustain the growth of Northern insurance, banking, shipping and textile firms, and flowed indirectly into the dynamic development of railroads, iron manufacture and other modern industries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

It would continue to manufacture new cars and issue its annual report.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• assemble
• complete
• construct
• create
• fabricate
• mass-produce
• synthesize