manufacturer

American  

[man-yuh-fak-cher-er] / ˌmæn jəˈfæk tʃər ər /

noun

• manufacturers
  plural

1. a person, group, or company that owns or runs a manufacturing plant.

2. a person, group, or company that manufactures.

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manufacturer British  

/ ˌmænjʊˈfæktʃərə /

noun

1. a person or business concern that manufactures goods or owns a factory

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• manufacturers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of manufacturer

First recorded in 1710–20; manufacture + -er ¹

Explanation

A manufacturer is a person or business that makes goods to sell. If you buy a shirt that has a "made in the USA" label, it means that the manufacturer of the shirt is in the United States. You can use the noun manufacturer for any company (or individual) that makes products, but it's most often used for things made on a very large scale, like cars, appliances, and computers. The word comes from manufacture, which as a noun originally meant "something made by hand," from the Latin roots manus, "hand," and factura, "a working."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manufacturer manufacturers

San Diego County jumped into California’s sprawling ghost gun fight this week, suing a 3-D printing filament manufacturer it says hocks material for homespun firearms in violation of state law.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

It is unclear which suppliers Apple reportedly specifically spoke to but Tata Electronics is a major manufacturer of the iPhone 18 Pro, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Qualcomm also supply the company with chips.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

The land was bequeathed to it by the children of Peter Cooper, a manufacturer and industrialist who founded the college in 1859.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Porsche saw its profitability slump to 1.1 percent last year -- an unprecedented low for a manufacturer of ultra-luxury vehicles.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

I also had offers from a pizza-delivery chain, a shoe manufacturer, and an online store that sold custom avatar skins.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

As they face mounting competition from Chinese manufacturers, Citroen and other European brands are exploiting their heritage as a means of selling modern motors.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Even as some American manufacturers have benefited as their foreign competitors encounter higher barriers, others struggle with ballooning costs and persistent uncertainty.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Devices from established manufacturers are generally safer because bigger companies with reputations to protect give priority to security and roll out updates when problems arise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Finding new ways to make cars appealing has become more important than ever, at a time when European manufacturers are facing growing competition from Chinese brands.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

So their American designers could be on the screen speaking with their Indian software writers and their Asian manufacturers all at once.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• builder
• business
• company
• corporation
• operator
• producer