industrial

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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

Brick wallpaper and metal pipe bookcases give his room an industrial feel while gray curtains trimmed with basketball orange and an animal hide rug give the room a unique style.

— madeleine winer, The Courier-Journal, "Coastal meets Southern rustic in this elegant Goshen estate," 20 July 2017
Their share of industrial assets hovers stubbornly near 40%.

— The Economist, "Unnatural selectionChina’s state enterprises are not retreating but advancing," 20 July 2017
The Downtown office is one of four worldwide locations designed to consolidate redundant back office functions for GE's industrial units.

— alexander coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "After lead developer pulls out, who will build the rest of The Banks?," 20 July 2017
The field of chemurgy—dedicated to turning agricultural materials into industrial products—rose and quickly fell, thanks to the ascendence of petroleum.

— sarah zhang, The Atlantic, "Half of All Plastic That Has Ever Existed Was Made in the Past 13 Years," 19 July 2017
Fendi’s Roman opulence and Soho’s industrial history might not seem like an obvious match, but the store juxtaposes the two aesthetics beautifully, pairing textural design elements with concrete and bricks salvaged from old New York buildings.

— lindsay peoples, The Cut, "Fendi Just Opened a Lavish New Soho Store," 18 July 2017
Alonso has a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from the University of Miami and an MBA in marketing from FIU.

— miamiherald, "Senior-level hires and promotions in South Florida for the week of July 17, 2017," 17 July 2017
The overall goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

— jeff landa, Glendale News-Press, "Glendale will join other cities in climate change initiative," 13 July 2017
Seeking out fresh meat, cheese, produce, and other products, the forager acts as the eyes and ears for the chef when grocery-shopping at an industrial level.

— spoon u, Teen Vogue, "10 Food Jobs That Actually Exist," 7 July 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 in·dus·tri·al

Definition of industrial

1a : one that is employed in industryb : a company engaged in industrial production or service
2 : a stock or bond issued by an industrial corporation or enterprise

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

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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