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industry - 5 dictionary results
in⋅dus⋅try
[in-duh-stree] 
də
–noun, plural -tries for 1, 2, 7.
| 1. | the aggregate of manufacturing or technically productive enterprises in a particular field, often named after its principal product: the automobile industry; the steel industry. |
| 2. | any general business activity; commercial enterprise: the Italian tourist industry. |
| 3. | trade or manufacture in general: the rise of industry in Africa. |
| 4. | the ownership and management of companies, factories, etc.: friction between labor and industry. |
| 5. | systematic work or labor. |
| 6. | energetic, devoted activity at any work or task; diligence: Her teacher praised her industry. |
| 7. | the aggregate of work, scholarship, and ancillary activity in a particular field, often named after its principal subject: the Mozart industry. |
| 8. | Archaeology. an assemblage of artifacts regarded as unmistakably the work of a single prehistoric group. |
Synonyms:
6. application, effort, assiduity, industriousness.
6. application, effort, assiduity, industriousness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To industry
| in·dus·try (ĭn'də-strē) n. pl. in·dus·tries
[Middle English industrie, skill, from Old French, from Latin industria, diligence, from feminine of industrius, diligent; see ster-2 in Indo-European roots.] Word History: A clear indication of the way in which human effort has been harnessed as a force for the commercial production of goods and services is the change in meaning of the word industry. Coming from the Latin word industria, meaning "diligent activity directed to some purpose," and its descendant, Old French industrie, with the senses "activity," "ability," and "a trade or occupation," our word (first recorded in 1475) originally meant "skill," "a device," and "diligence" as well as "a trade." Over the course of the Industrial Revolution, as more and more human effort became involved in producing goods and services for sale, the last sense of industry as well as the slightly newer sense "systematic work or habitual employment" grew in importance, to a large extent taking over the word. We can even speak now of the Shakespeare industry, rather like the garment industry. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Industry
In"dus*try\, n.; pl. Industries. [L. industria, cf. industrius diligent; of uncertain origin: cf. F. industrie.]1. Habitual diligence in any employment or pursuit, either bodily or mental; steady attention to business; assiduity; -- opposed to sloth and idleness; as, industry pays debts, while idleness or despair will increase them. We are more industrious than our forefathers, because in the present times the funds destined for the maintenance of industry are much greater in proportion to those which are likely to be employed in the maintenance of idleness, than they were two or three centuries ago. --A. Smith. 2. Any department or branch of art, occupation, or business; especially, one which employs much labor and capital and is a distinct branch of trade; as, the sugar industry; the iron industry; the cotton industry. 3. (Polit. Econ.) Human exertion of any kind employed for the creation of value, and regarded by some as a species of capital or wealth; labor. Syn: Diligence; assiduity; perseverance; activity; laboriousness; attention. See Diligence.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : industry
Spanish:
industria,
German:
die Industrie,
Japanese:
産業
industry
c.1477, "cleverness, skill," from O.Fr. industrie, from L. industria "diligence," fem. of industrius "industrious, diligent," used as a noun, from early L. indostruus "diligent," from indu "in, within" + stem of struere "to build" (see structure). Sense of "diligence, effort" is from 1531; meaning "trade or manufacture" first recorded 1566; that of "systematic work" is 1611. Industrial (1774) and industrialize (1882) both on Fr. models. Industrial as a style of dance music dates from 1988. Industrious "characterized by energy, effort, attention" (1552) retains the etymological sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Industry
A category used to describe a company's primary business activity, usually determined by the largest source of a company's revenues.
Investopedia Commentary
An industry can be classified very broadly (i.e. manufacturing) or specifically (i.e. fast-food restaurants).
Related Links
Industry Handbook
See also: Business, Industry Bet, Revenues, Sector
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