industrial revolution

noun

: a rapid major change in an economy (as in England in the late 18th century) marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery or by an important change in the prevailing types and methods of use of such machines

Examples of industrial revolution in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After the industrial revolution, the economy went from 75% of Americans working as farmers to about 1%, and that freed people to do everything else, Foody said. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025

At the beginning of the industrial revolution, the big bosses considered women inferior to their male counterparts (weaker, more emotional, less reliable, and so forth). —Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025

Solomon, speaking from the sidelines of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, cited the disruption caused by the invention in the late 1700s of the steam engine, which helped fuel the first industrial revolution. —Matt Egan, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025

However, with the mechanization of the industrial revolution, goods were produced by machines requiring little human physical effort, and negligible mental engagement. —Marcus Weldon, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for industrial revolution

• ablution
• aleutian
• confucian
• dilution
• elution
• locution
• pollution
• solution
• volution
• absolution
• allocution
• attribution

Kids Definition

industrial revolution

noun

: a rapid major change in an economy (as in England in the late 18th century) marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery