What does "industrial" mean?
An employee in industry.
Industrial
/ɪnˈdʌs.tɹi.əl/ adj, name, noun, slang
adj, name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An employee in industry.
- Grammar: industrial is listed as adj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: assembly-line kitchen, business, capital goods, commercial.
- Useful contrasts: nonindustrial, unindustrial, academic physicists.
- Usage evidence: Banks are cutting lending to industrial borrowers.
How to use "industrial"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "industrial" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "industrial" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "industrial" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "industrial" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "industrial" is acting as adj, name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "assembly-line kitchen" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "industrial", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An employee in industry. countable, dated, obsolete, uncountable
- 2 An enterprise producing tangible goods or providing certain services to industrial companies. countable, uncountable
- 3 A bond or stock issued by such a company. countable, uncountable
- 4 A film made for use within an industry, not for a movie-going audience. countable, uncountable
"Actor, director, and producer for three decades offers coaching and directing in scenes, improves, cold copy, script analysis, commercials, voice-overs, industrials, film, and stage."
- 5 Ellipsis of industrial music. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal, uncountable
"I wish they'd play more industrial in this club."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Ellipsis of industrial piercing. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, informal, uncountable
Adjective
- 1 Of or relating to industry, notably manufacturing.
"The industrial segment of the economy has seen troubles lately."
- 2 Produced by such industry.
"Handicraft is less standardized then industrial products, hence less artistic or rather flawless."
- 3 Used by such industry.
"More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel."
- 4 Suitable for use in such industry; industrial-grade.
"This is an industrial product—it's much too strong for home use."
- 5 Massive in scale or quantity.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Employed as manpower by such industry.
"Come, all ye workers, from every land, / Come, join in the grand industrial band; / Then we our share of this earth shall demand."
- 7 Having many industries; industrialized.
"Italy is a part-industrial, part-rural nation."
- 8 Belonging or pertaining to the genre of industrial music.
"a track with clashing industrial beats"
Adjective
- 1 suitable to stand up to hard wear wordnet
- 2 having highly developed industries wordnet
- 3 employed in industry wordnet
- 4 of or relating to or resulting from industry wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 An unincorporated community in Doddridge County, West Virginia, United States.
- 2 A township in Saginaw, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Banks are cutting lending to industrial borrowers."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "industrial"?
Common synonyms include: assembly-line kitchen, business, capital goods, commercial, commercial chemistry, computational problem.
How do you use "industrial" in a sentence?
Banks are cutting lending to industrial borrowers.
How do you pronounce "industrial"?
Pronounced /ɪnˈdʌs.tɹi.əl/.
Etymology
From French industriel. By surface analysis, industry + -al.