Skip to main content
industrial

industrial

17 3.5
Made strong for heavy use in factories and shops
  • adjective
  • /ɪnˈdʌstriəl/
: industrial
  • But they're building, you know, big industrial machinery that same way.
  • industrial equipment
  • industrial materials
  • industrial chemicals

This is like industrial double sided tape that you can reuse.

Examples

  • Lead from old vehicle exhaust, paint, and past industrial activities is the most widely documented pollutant in urban soils.

    Academic text (2013)
  • It's like a proper industrial space with high ceilings.

  • OK, so the industrial design is pretty impressive.

  • Well, you used to run one of the largest industrial firms in the country.

  • Our steel output will be the basis of- of great industrial expansion.

  • I use Facebook to keep editors, industrial clients, and other writers up to date about my professional activities.

    Academic text (2011)
  • High temperatures also make GCRs suitable for some industrial applications, including hydrogen production for use in transportation.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Their apartment is in an old converted industrial building in a funky, low-rent part of town.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • In addition to fish, the Nimiipuu used plant resources for food, medicinal, and industrial purposes.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The contractor recommended an industrial-strength adhesive for the heavy-duty repairs.

Synonyms

industrial-strength
vsindustrial
8 5.8

Very strong and made for heavy use in factories, not for regular home use

is for items built to be durable for heavy commercial or manufacturing use

Antonyms

45 3.4

Easily broken or damaged because it is not strong

Compounds

A number showing how the stock prices of 30 large US companies are doing

A time when factories and machines change farming villages into industrial towns

23 7.0

A powerful group of armed forces and weapons makers that influence government decisions

12 3.8

An area of land near a city with many factories and large businesses

Very strong and made for heavy use in factories, not for regular home use

industrial process
  • Specialized
4 3.4

A series of machine and chemical steps used to make goods in a factory

A group of buildings where goods are made with machines

1 4.5

Study of designing and improving systems in factories that make goods using people and machines

A group of workers in one industry who join to talk with employers about pay and conditions for every worker

1 3.7

A school subject for learning to use tools and machines to make things

A large business that makes products, often in factories

A labor union from many countries that fights for workers' rights and the end of capitalism

A bank that gives small loans to workers or small businesses

industrial management
  • Specialized
1 4.5

Work that plans and runs factories to make production faster and safer

A style of music from the 1970s that uses harsh, machine-like sounds and shocking ideas

A disease caused by harmful work conditions, like dust or chemicals

1 4.7

Poisonous waste from factories that can harm people and nature

Dirty air from factories and power plants that harms people

1 7.1

A small bank that gives loans and sometimes holds savings but usually not checking accounts

A group of trade unions in North America formed in 1935 that joined the American Federation of Labor in 1955

industrial psychology
  • Specialized
1 4.4

Study of how people behave at work and how to help companies solve problems

A large group of trade unions in the United States that represents workers

A measure that shows how 30 large American company stocks are doing

6.8

A canal that factories use to get water or move goods

How Durable

industrial
17 3.5
heavy-duty
38 3.9

Surface Forms

industrial positive

Morphology

industrial = industry (semi-transparent) = industry + al

The form is clearly built from 'industry' + '-al', but this sense is a specialized extension to heavy-duty commercial use rather than a fully literal relational adjective.

Etymology

Industrial comes from the same root industry / industria meaning 'hard work', and a helpful way to remember this is to think of tools or furniture made for tough, regular work in a factory or shop. That's why industrial goods are built to be very strong and to last under heavy use.