industrial

1 of 2

adjective

in·​dus·​tri·​al in-ˈdə-strē-əl How to pronounce industrial (audio)
Synonyms of industrialnext
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 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
China’s industrial firms ended the first quarter with faster growth in earnings, an acceleration that hid a widening split between companies under pressure from higher costs and others benefiting from rising oil prices and the global artificial intelligence boom. Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026 Seventy-seven years ago, famed architects and furniture designers Ray and Charles Eames, came up with a modernist blueprint for a system composed of inexpensive and off-the-shelf materials from industrial and commercial catalogs that could be easily assembled. Vanessa Romo, NPR, 27 Apr. 2026
Noun
In its analysis of the 100 most sensitive stocks to changes in oil and gas prices, financials represent the highest number of names, closely followed by industrials and consumer cyclicals. Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026 Cyclical shares such as autos, banks and industrials were also among the biggest laggards. Levin Stamm, Bloomberg, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for industrial

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1831, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of industrial was in 1600

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Industrial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/industrial. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

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

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