industrial

play

adjective in·dus·tri·al \ in-ˈdə-strē-əl \

Definition of industrial

1 :of or relating to industry

2 :derived from human industry

industrial wealth

3 :engaged in industry

the industrial classes

4 :used in or developed for use in industry

industrial diamonds

; also :heavy-duty

an industrial zipper

5 :characterized by highly developed industries

an industrial nation

—

industrially

play \in-ˈdə-strē-ə-lē\ adverb

See industrial defined for English-language learners

See industrial defined for kids

Examples of industrial in a Sentence

There are thousands of industrial uses for plastic.

Recent Examples of industrial from the Web

London's naturally moist and foggy climate had also grown smoky and sooty from industrial pollution and widespread burning of coal.

— tom skilling, chicagotribune.com, "Ask Tom: Is 'smog' a combination of 'smoke' and 'fog'?," 30 Aug. 2017
Those volatile peroxides, along with the number of homes near the plant, resulted in it landing on a list of Houston-area industrial sites with the highest potential for catastrophe in the event of a natural disaster.

— adam k. raymond, Daily Intelligencer, "CEO of Flooded Texas Chemical Plant: There’s ‘No Way to Prevent’ Explosion," 30 Aug. 2017
However, a feasibility study determined the smokestack would be too costly and difficult to salvage, according to Melissa Johnson, vice president of industrial development and logistics at the redevelopment authority.

— randy tucker, Cincinnati.com, "The iconic Hudepohl smokestack is coming down after asbestos cleanup at the old brewery site," 29 Aug. 2017
In Katrina, storm surge [a huge wave caused by high winds] came up the industrial canal, over top of the levees, and then breached a number of other levees—what came in was seawater from the ocean.

— olga khazan, The Atlantic, "What Makes a Storm Deadly?," 28 Aug. 2017
Q: BankUnited’s offices are located in Miami Lakes, in an industrial village — not the typical style for a bank.

— jane wooldridge, miamiherald, "Keeping BankUnited lean, nimble and focused on growth," 27 Aug. 2017
Camp North End Just north of uptown, New York developer ATCO is overhauling a former industrial site on Statesville Avenue that at various times has been a Ford Model T factory, a missile plant, munitions dump and Rite Aid Distribution center.

— ely portillo elyportillo@charlotteobserver.com, charlotteobserver, "Five developments that will reshape Charlotte," 18 Aug. 2017
Storper likens what happened in Los Angeles to the decline of the industrial upper Midwest.

— joe donatelli, Los Angeles Magazine, "Southern California Used to Carry the State Economy. Now the North Does. What Happened?," 14 Aug. 2017
And now, per Axios, this is happening: President Trump is considering an aggressive step against China over its theft of U.S. intellectual property and China’s other industrial policies that harm American companies.

— bess levin, The Hive, "Beijing Is Back on Trump’s Bad Side," 2 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'industrial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of industrial

1600

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

industrial

noun

Definition of industrial

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

Recent Examples of industrial from the Web

The Dow Jones industrials ended the week at 21,674.51, not far below its record high 22,118.42 set Aug. 7.

— james f. peltz, latimes.com, "How long can the stock market ignore the troubles in Washington?," 18 Aug. 2017
The Dow Jones industrials average also gained 0.1 percent, to 21,858.32.

— elaine kurtenbach, USA TODAY, "Asia shares rebound as North Korea related selling abates," 14 Aug. 2017
Industrials are a segment of the market considered acutely sensitive to global economic activity, and this product’s top holdings include firms with extensive worldwide operations, including General Electric Co., Boeing Co. and Caterpillar Inc.

— luke kawa, Bloomberg.com, "Investors Just Made a Big Bet on Global Growth and a Soft Dollar," 7 Aug. 2017
Boeing’s gains have driven both the S&P 500 and DJIA to new records in recent days, amid a generally solid earnings season for industrials.

— geoffrey smith, Fortune, "CEO Daily: Tuesday, 1st August," 31 July 2017
Industrials and natural resources were notably weak.

— conrad de aenlle, New York Times, "The Stock Market Is Believing the Fed — for Now," 14 July 2017
HIT THE BRAKES: Industrials slumped, especially transportation companies.

— marley jay, The Mercury News, "Stocks sink as banks, industrials take broad losses," 21 Mar. 2017
The Dow industrials rose 2.74 points, or less than 0.1%, to...

— corrie driebusch and riva gold, WSJ, "S&P 500 Climbs for Sixth Week in a Row," 3 Mar. 2017

First Known Use of industrial

1831

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

INDUSTRIAL Defined for English Language Learners

industrial

play

adjective

Definition of industrial for English Language Learners

: of or relating to industry : of or relating to factories, the people who work in factories, or the things made in factories
: having a developed industry : having factories that actively make a product
: coming from or used in industry : made or used in factories; also : stronger than most other products of its kind