INDUSTRIAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does industrial mean? 

• INDUSTRIAL (adjective)
  The adjective INDUSTRIAL has 4 senses:

1. of or relating to or resulting from industry

2. having highly developed industries

3. employed in industry

4. suitable to stand up to hard wear

  Familiarity information: INDUSTRIAL used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INDUSTRIAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to or resulting from industry

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

industrial output

Pertainym:

industry (the organized action of making of goods and services for sale)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having highly developed industries

Context example:

an industrial nation

Similar:

developed; highly-developed ((used of societies) having high industrial development)

industrialised; industrialized (made industrial; converted to industrialism)

postindustrial (of or relating to a society or economy marked by a lessened importance of manufacturing and an increase of services, information, and research)

Also:

progressive (favoring or promoting progress)

Antonym:

nonindustrial (not having highly developed manufacturing enterprises)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Employed in industry

Context example:

industrial work

Similar:

blue-collar (of or designating manual industrial work or workers)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Suitable to stand up to hard wear

Context example:

industrial carpeting

Similar:

heavy-duty (designed for heavy work)

 Context examples 

This means it can’t yet be used to scale up findings to an industrial level.

(Scientists pioneer a new way to turn sunlight into fuel, University of Cambridge)

Rapeseed oil was traditionally used as an industrial lubricant but newer varieties are used for animal feed, vegetable oil for human consumption, and biodiesel.

(Brassica napus Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

This group includes many industrial and tobacco carcinogens.

(Carcinogenic Aromatic Amine, NCI Thesaurus)

This approach could be particularly useful to help eradicate resistant biofilms — layers of bacteria that form for example in industrial water pipes and are hard to remove.

(Bacteria Can 'Divide and Conquer' to Vanquish Their Enemies, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Even together, the ocean and the land are not keeping up with industrial carbon emissions, and the global concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising at an accelerating rate.

(World's forests increasingly taking up more carbon, National Science Foundation)

Around one-third of all food grown and reared for humans is lost during production and transport, or wasted in households and during industrial food processing, they said.

(Model shows pathway to feeding the world, SciDev.Net)

It is essential for many biological processes and has various industrial applications.

(Ammonia, NCI Thesaurus)

And unlike the current industrial processes for producing syngas, the leaf does not release any additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

(‘Artificial leaf’ successfully produces clean gas, University of Cambridge)

Chemical releases can be unintentional, as in the case of an industrial accident.

(Chemical Emergencies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

They can be used for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment or research of disease states, for industrial purposes, or for the promotion or maintenance of organism viability or health.

(Drug, Food, Chemical or Biomedical Material, NCI Thesaurus)