industrial

[ in-duhs-tree-uh l ]

/ ɪnˈdʌs tri əl /

adjective

of, pertaining to, of the nature of, or resulting from industry: industrial production; industrial waste.

having many and highly developed industries: an industrial nation.

engaged in an industry or industries: industrial workers.

of or relating to the workers in industries: industrial training.

used in industry: industrial diamonds: industrial fabrics.

noting or pertaining to industrial life insurance.

noun

an industrial product: diamonds classed as industrials and nonindustrials.

a company engaged in industrial enterprises.

an employee in some industry, especially a manufacturing industry.

industrials, stocks and bonds of industrial companies.

Nearby words

indus valley civilization, indus., indusiate, indusium, indusium griseum, industrial, industrial action, industrial archaeology, industrial arts, industrial democracy, industrial design

Origin of industrial

First recorded in 1580–90; industry + -al¹

Related forms

in·dus·tri·al·ly, adverbin·dus·tri·al·ness, nounnon·in·dus·tri·al, adjectivenon·in·dus·tri·al·ly, adverb

pre·in·dus·tri·al, adjectivepro·in·dus·tri·al, adjectivequa·si-in·dus·tri·al, adjectivequa·si-in·dus·tri·al·ly, adverbsem·i-in·dus·tri·al, adjectivesem·i-in·dus·tri·al·ly, adverbun·in·dus·tri·al, adjective

Can be confused

industrial industrious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for preindustrial

In the preindustrial Bulgaria of the 1930s, the artisans and peasants together formed the backbone of the economy.
Area Handbook for Bulgaria|Eugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole

British Dictionary definitions for preindustrial (1 of 2)

preindustrial

/ (ˌpriːɪnˈdʌstrɪəl) /

adjective

of or relating to a society, age, etc, before industrialization

British Dictionary definitions for preindustrial (2 of 2)

industrial

/ (ɪnˈdʌstrɪəl) /

adjective

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

employed in industrythe industrial workforce

relating to or concerned with workers in industryindustrial conditions

used in industryindustrial chemicals

Derived Forms

industrially, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012