- industry
- The category describing a company's primary business activity. This category is usually determined by the largest portion of revenue. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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industry in‧dus‧try [ˈɪndəstri] noun industries PLURALFORM1. [uncountable] MANUFACTURING the production of raw material S (= basic materials used in manufacturing) and of goods:• Growth in productivity has dropped, and the competitiveness of industry has declined.
2. [uncountable] the people and organizations that work in industry:• an agreement that will be welcomed by both sides of industry (= employers and workers ) .
3. [countable] MANUFACTURING COMMERCE ECONOMICS business that produce a particular type of thing or provide a particular service:• He joined ICI after working in the retailing and banking industries.
• the aircraft industry
• the oil industry
ˈbasic ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry that many other industries in an economy depend on:• companies in basic industries, such as chemicals, oil, or steel
an industry which needs a lot of money for equipment, machinery etc:• large, capital-intensive industries such as steel and mining
ˈcottage ˌindustry COMMERCE1. [countable] an industry consisting of people who work from home, making things such as toys or clothes2. [countable] informal an industry consisting of small businesses operating from home:• There is a huge cottage industry of proprietors running nursing homes for elderly people.
deˈclining ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry that is gradually getting smaller and less important:• labour lay-offs in declining industries such as textiles and coal
esˌsential ˈindustry [countable] ECONOMICSan industry that a country considers is very important to its economy and may support with government money, taxes on imports etc:• The continent's biggest, most essential industries - electronics and cars - need tariff protection and aid money.
exˈtractive ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry where materials, such as oil and coal, are obtained from under the ground in Drilling, Mining, and Quarryingˈgrowth ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry that is growing fast:• They moved away from steel to tourism, which is a growth industry.
an industry involving heavy machinery, large factories etc, or these industries considered as a whole:• heavy industry, including coal mining, mechanical engineering and ship building
ˈheritage ˌindustry [uncountable] COMMERCEthe business activity of managing places that are related to a country's past and bringing tourists to them:• The heritage industry brings large numbers of foreign tourists to old country houses and historic towns.
an industry using or involving advanced methods and the most modern equipment:• such important high-tech industries as chemicals, drugs and aircraft
ˈinfant ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry in its early stages of development in a particular country:• The insurance industry here is an infant industry, and we should try to protect it.
ˈknowledge ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry where success depends on obtaining, managing, and using knowledge in a particular area:• knowledge industries such as computer software
an industry needing a lot of people to operate, usually manual worker S:• Many manufacturers in labor-intensive industries in Taiwan have moved operations to China.
an industry that provides goods or services for activities that people do for entertainment and enjoyment:• The leisure industry soaks up approximately 12% of the average American's income.
an industry needing only light machinery, small factories etc, for example electronics, or these industries considered as a whole:• Light industries grew at 12.1% last year, fuelled by rising demand for televisions and washing machines.
ˈlow-tech ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry not using very advanced methods or very advanced equipment:• The mining industry has gone from being a low-tech industry to a high-tech industry, and that means more production with fewer people.
an industry that makes goods, rather than providing services, or these industries considered as a whole:• Manufacturing industries, particularly aerospace firms, are reasonably healthy.
• Orders to Germany's manufacturing industry have been declining and industrial output has fallen.
maˈture ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry which is not new and has little growth or no growth, and little chance of further growth in the future:• Insurance broking is a mature industry, where revenue growth is slow.
ˈprimary ˌindustry [countable, uncountable] ECONOMICSan industry involved in the production of raw material S, fuel etc, or these industries considered as a whole:• primary industries like mining, quarrying and oil and gas production
ˈregulated ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry that is closely controlled by the government:• regulated industries such as trucking and airlines
ˈsecondary ˌindustry [countable, uncountable] ECONOMICSan industry that makes goods, rather than producing raw material S (= basic materials used to make goods) or providing services, or these industries considered as a whole:• They wanted to develop a series of secondary industries: sawmilling, building, textiles and cider-making.
ˈservice ˌindustry [countable, uncountable] COMMERCEa type of business such as banking or tourism that provides services, or these activities considered as a whole:• A large part of the workforce switched from manufacturing to service industries in the 1980s.
• Most of the recently created jobs have been in the service industry and the retail sector.
ˈsmokestack ˌindustry [countable] MANUFACTURINGa heavy industry, often in an old industrial area:• China's steel mills, auto plants and other smokestack industries are gathered in the industrial belt.
straˈtegic ˌindustry [countable] ECONOMICSan industry that a country considers very important for its economic development:• No one in France wanted to see such a strategic industry as nuclear power pass out of the public sector.
ˈsunrise ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry involved in new technology:• sunrise industries including biotechnology, computer technology and robotics
ˈsunset ˌindustry [countable] COMMERCEan industry involved in an old technology, often in an old industrial area, and often one which is getting smaller:• The EU has often been engaged in protecting sunset industries such as the steel industry.
ˈtertiary ˌindustry [countable, uncountable] COMMERCEan industry providing services, rather than one producing raw materials or goods, or these industries considered as a whole:• Tertiary industry already accounts for half of Shanghai's output, and its mayor wants to further develop financial services and tourism.
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industry UK US /ˈɪndəstri/ noun (plural industries) ECONOMICS, PRODUCTION► [U] the companies and activities involved in the production of goods: »We hope the government listens to the concerns of industry and drops its plans to introduce another crippling tax on business.
»domestic/global/international industry
in industry »The largest firms only account for one in four jobs in industry.
go/move into industry »Another top accountant has moved into industry.
► [C] the people and activities involved in one type of business that produces goods or offers services: the car/electronics/construction industry »In the construction industry, as in other industries, mechanization has had a major impact.
»the advertising/banking/insurance industry
»the music/movie/entertainment industry
»Job gains in service industries such as health care and banking offset losses in such areas as construction.
»a global/growing/leading industry
»an industry consultant/expert/observer
industry figures/data/average »The auto maker spends $581 more on distribution per car than the industry average.
→ See also AGRO-INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑agro-industry), BASIC INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑basic industry), CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑captain of industry), COTTAGE INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑cottage industry), THE DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑the Department of Trade and Industry), ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑essential industry), EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑extractive industry), GROWTH INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑growth industry), HEAVY INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑heavy industry), HERITAGE INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑heritage industry), INFANT INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑infant industry), KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑knowledge industry), LIGHT INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑light industry), MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑manufacturing industry), MATURE INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑mature industry), PRIMARY INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑primary industry), REGULATED INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑regulated industry), SECONDARY INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑secondary industry), SERVICE INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑service industry), SMOKESTACK INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑smokestack industry), STRATEGIC INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑strategic industry), SUNRISE INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑sunrise industry), SUNSET INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑sunset industry), TERTIARY INDUSTRY(Cf. ↑tertiary industry)
Financial and business terms. 2012.
