Dictionary
in•dus•try
Pronunciation: (in'du-strē), [key]—
n.,
—pl. -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. Archaeol.an assemblage of artifacts regarded as unmistakably the work of a single prehistoric group.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.