factory

noun

fac·​to·​ry ˈfak-t(ə-)rē 

plural factories

1

: a station where factors reside and trade

a colonial factory

2

a

: a building or set of buildings with facilities for manufacturing

b

: the seat of some kind of production

the vice factories of the slums

factorylike

ˈfak-t(ə-)rē-ˌlīk 

adjective

Synonyms

• manufactory
• mill
• plant
• shop
• works
• workshop

Examples of factory in a Sentence

She got a job in the factory.

the new factory will create hundreds of much-needed jobs

Recent Examples on the Web

In the Galerie des Gobelins building, once part of the Gobelins tapestry factory, Restoring the Grands Decors of Notre Dame comes to life. —Lindsey Tramuta, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Apr. 2024

Investigators looking into the Alaska flight say bolts that help keep the door plug in place were missing after repair work at a Boeing factory. —David Koenig, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2024

Once an aircraft is away from the factory, airlines largely take over its maintenance. —Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024

The first Buy America-compliant broadband network products, from Finnish telecom company Nokia, rolled off the assembly line Wednesday at a Kenosha County factory. —Rick Barrett, Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024

Tesla is continuing to ramp up the factory in California that manufactures these batteries, as well as building another in Shanghai. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024

Typically, rice is dried in the sun immediately after harvest, but Nhut said his company has drying facilities in their packaging factory and also will install machinery to dry the grains closer to the fields. —Aniruddha Ghosal, Fortune Asia, 23 Apr. 2024

Only a scant bit of greenery around the factory remains amongst the sea of panels. —Jamie Lang, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024

His family lived with his uncle in Harlem, supported by his mother's job in a sweatshop sewing factory and food stamps. —Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

fact(or) entry 1 + -ory entry 1; in sense 1 after Portuguese feitoria; in sense 2 perhaps short for manufactory

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing factory

• factory farm
• factory ship
• on the factory floor
• the factory floor
• think factory

Kids Definition

factory

noun

fac·​to·​ry ˈfak-t(ə-)rē 

plural factories

: a building or set of buildings equipped for manufacturing

Etymology

from early French factorie "a place where business is carried on," derived from Latin factor "one that does or makes," from factus, past participle of facere "to make, do" — related to fashion, manufacture