industrial

1 of 2

adjective

in·​dus·​tri·​al in-ˈdə-strē-əl 

1

: of or relating to industry

industrial development

He had an industrial accident. [=an accident at work]

2

: engaged in industry

the industrial classes

3

: characterized by highly developed industries

an industrial nation/region/city

4

: used in or developed for use in industry

industrial diamonds

also : heavy-duty

an industrial cleaner

5

: derived from human industry

industrial wealth

industrially

in-ˈdə-strē-ə-lē 

adverb

industrial

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: one that is employed in industry

b

: a company engaged in industrial production or service

2

: a stock or bond issued by an industrial corporation or enterprise

Examples of industrial in a Sentence

Adjective

There are thousands of industrial uses for plastic.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The project, developed by industrial pyrolysis company Niutech, is currently under construction in Linyi, Shandong Province, China. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026

Strelo said Oakley lacks a heavy industrial general plan land use designation and zoning district, leaving very few potential locations for large data centers. — Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 24 July 2026

Noun

Trading under the ticker YALL and offering outsized exposure to energy, industrials and financials, the fund has dropped more than 4% this year while the S&P 500 has climbed about 8%. — Geoffrey Morgan, Fortune, 25 July 2026

Honeywell Technologies — Shares popped 5% after the industrials giant raised its 2026 outlook for adjusted earnings per share and non-GAAP segment margin. — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1831, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing industrial

• agro-industrial
• industrial action
• industrial archaeology
• industrial arts
• industrial engineering
• industrial estate
• industrial melanism
• industrial park
• industrial psychology
• industrial relations
• industrial revolution
• industrial school
• industrial sociology
• industrial-strength
• industrial union
• military-industrial complex
• pre-industrial
• prison-industrial complex

Rhymes for industrial

• nonindustrial
• postindustrial
• preindustrial

Kids Definition

industrial

adjective

in·​dus·​tri·​al

in-ˈdəs-trē-əl

1

: of, relating to, or engaged in industry

2

: having highly developed industries

an industrial nation

3

: coming from or used in industry

industrial diamonds

industrially

-trē-ə-lē

adverb