Synonym Chooser

How is the word industry distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of industry are business, commerce, trade, and traffic. While all these words mean "activity concerned with the supplying and distribution of commodities," industry applies to the producing of commodities, especially by manufacturing or processing, usually on a large scale.

When might business be a better fit than industry?

While the synonyms business and industry are close in meaning, business may be an inclusive term but specifically designates the activities of those engaged in the purchase or sale of commodities or in related financial transactions.

How do commerce and trade relate to one another, in the sense of industry?

Both commerce and trade imply the exchange and transportation of commodities.

When could traffic be used to replace industry?

The meanings of traffic and industry largely overlap; however, traffic applies to the operation and functioning of public carriers of goods and persons.

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of industry Now, states are trying to make sense of the bill’s language, setting up their own regulations and raising questions for the future of the fast-growing industry. Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Money, 10 May 2025 The attitude within the industry, understandably, appears to be to want more clarity. The Editors, National Review, 10 May 2025 One disruption involving advertising, however, has gained less favorable notice in some industry circles. Dade Hayes, Deadline, 10 May 2025 Aviation industry is lobbying the White House for exemptions. Shashwat Chauhan and Medha Singh, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for industry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for industry
Noun
  • The Capitals did a better job of countering in Game 2 and tied the series behind a strong two-way effort from Tom Wilson.
    Aaron Beard, Baltimore Sun, 11 May 2025
  • And the level of effort players have shown has been astonishing.
    Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 11 May 2025
Noun
  • The virtues associated with self-discipline include restraint, diligence, humility, and a dozen others.
    Andrew Abela, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
  • Your diligence now will be rewarded in the not-so-distant future.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • Funding applications will be accepted from May 5-30.
    Christin Lazerus, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2025
  • Fake words creeping like kudzu into scientific papers and dating profiles and e-mails and text messages and news outlets and social feeds and job listings and job applications.
    Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • Some bird species can be very precise, but do not necessarily maintain that persistence over time.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 1 May 2025
  • The key lies in a fast oscillating sheet known as a diffuser, onto which synchronous images are projected at high speed (2,880 images per second) and at different heights; human persistence of vision ensures that these images are perceived as true 3D objects.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • These indestructible treasures have always been buried in matter, awaiting the invention of scanning electron microscopes and scientists with enough assiduity to spend decades on end peering into their atomic eyes.
    Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2023
  • Lee is hardly the first biographer to be wooed by the allure of her subject; to risk being squashed by the weight of her research; or to concede that, despite her assiduity, much will elude her grasp.
    Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2021

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Cite this Entry

“Industry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/industry. Accessed 15 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on industry

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