fac·to·ry

(făk′tə-rē)

n. pl. fac·to·ries

a. A building or group of buildings in which goods are manufactured; a plant.

2. A business establishment for commercial agents or factors in a foreign country.

3. The source of prolific production: a rock group that was a hit-tune factory; a motel that served as an illegal drug factory.

[Late Latin factōria, oil press, mill, and Medieval Latin factōria, establishment for factors, both from Latin factor, factor; see factor.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

factory

(ˈfæktərɪ)

n, pl -ries

1. (Commerce)

a. a building or group of buildings containing a plant assembly for the manufacture of goods

b. (as modifier): a factory worker.

2. (Commerce) rare a trading station maintained by factors in a foreign country

3. Canadian (formerly) a main trading station for the exchange and transshipment of furs

[C16: from Late Latin factorium; see factor]

ˈfactory-ˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fac•to•ry

(ˈfæk tə ri, -tri)

n., pl. -ries.

1. a building or group of buildings with facilities for the manufacture of goods.

2. (formerly) an establishment in a foreign country where factors carried on their business.

[1550–60; factor, + -y³]

fac′to•ry•like`, adj.

factory

- Originally a place where traders did their business in another country, based on Latin factorium, "an oil press" (for olive oil).

Factory

a body of factors, or workers, 1702.

factory

– works – mill – plant

1. 'factory'

A building where machines are used to make things is usually called a factory.

I work in a cheese factory.

He visited several factories which produce domestic electrical goods.

2. 'works'

A place where things are made or where an industrial process takes place can also be called a works. A works can consist of several buildings and may include outdoor equipment and machinery.

There used to be an iron works here.

After works you can use either a singular or plural form of a verb.

The sewage works was closed down.

Engineering works are planned for this district.

3. 'mill'

A building where a particular material is made is often called a mill.

He worked at a cotton mill.

4. 'plant'

A building where chemicals are produced is called a chemical plant.

There was an explosion at a chemical plant.

A power station can also be referred to as a plant.

They discussed the re-opening of the nuclear plant.

manufacture

– factory

1. 'manufacture'

Manufacture refers to the process of making goods using machines. Manufacture is an uncountable noun.

The chemical is used in the manufacture of plastics.

2. 'factory'

Don't use 'manufacture' to refer to a building where machines are used to make things. Use factory.

She works at the chocolate factory.

See factory - works - mill - plant

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

factory - a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing

manufactory, manufacturing plant, mill

assembly plant - a factory where manufactured parts are assembled into a finished product

auto factory, automobile factory, car factory - a factory where automobiles are manufactured

cannery - a factory where food is canned

chemical plant - an industrial plant where chemicals are produced

closed-circuit television - a television system that is not used for broadcasting but is connected by cables to designated monitors (as in a factory or theater)

conveyer belt, conveyor belt, conveyor, conveyer, transporter - a moving belt that transports objects (as in a factory)

foundry, metalworks - factory where metal castings are produced

lumbermill, sawmill - a mill for dressing logs and lumber

paper mill - a mill where paper is manufactured

industrial plant, plant, works - buildings for carrying on industrial labor; "they built a large plant to manufacture automobiles"

assembly line, production line, line - mechanical system in a factory whereby an article is conveyed through sites at which successive operations are performed on it

shop floor - workplace consisting of the part of a factory housing the machines; "the productive work is done on the shop floor"

stamp mill, stamping mill - a mill in which ore is crushed with stamps

steel factory, steel mill, steel plant, steelworks - a factory where steel is made

sweatshop - factory where workers do piecework for poor pay and are prevented from forming unions; common in the clothing industry

textile mill - a factory for making textiles

uptime - a period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is functioning and available for use

factory

noun works, plant, mill, workshop, assembly line, shop floor, manufactory (obsolete) He owned furniture factories in New York.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

factory

noun

A building or complex in which an industry is located:

mill, plant, work (used in plural).

Translations

مَصْنَع

továrnatovárnízávodfabrika

fabrikfabriks-

Fabrik Manufaktur Werk

εργοστάσιο

fábrica

tehdas

usine atelier fabrique

tvornica

gyár

verksmiîja

fabbrica opificio ditta

工場

공장

fabrikas

fabrikafabrikas-rūpnīcarūpnīcas-

фабрика завод заводской

továrenský

tovarna

tvornica

fabrik

โรงงาน

fabrika

nhà máy

工厂工廠

factory

[ˈfæktərɪ]

A. N → fábrica f

B. CPD factory farm N → granja f de cría intensiva
factory farming N → cría f intensiva
factory floor N → fábrica f
workers on the factory floor → trabajadores mpl de fábrica
factory floor opinion → opinión f de los obreros
factory inspector N → inspector(a) m/f de trabajo
factory ship N → buque m factoría
factory work N → trabajo m de fábrica
factory worker N → obrero/a m/f industrial

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

factory

[ˈfæktəri]

n (industrial) → usine f; (smaller-scale) → fabrique f
weapons factory → usine m d'armement
furniture factory → fabrique f de meubles

modif
factory worker → ouvrier/ière m/f
factory owner → propriétaire mf d'usineFactory Acts npl (British) ensemble des lois qui régissait les conditions de travail dans les usines au XIXe sièclefactory farming n → élevage m industrielfactory floor n
the factory floor (= workers) → les ouvriers mpl (= workshop) → l'usine f
on the factory floor → dans les ateliersfactory outlet factory shop n → magasin m d'usinefactory ship n → navire-usine m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

factory

n → Fabrik f; (plant also) → Werk nt

factory

Factory Act

n → Arbeitsschutzgesetz nt

factory farm

n → industrieller Viehzuchtbetrieb, Großmästerei f

factory farming

n → industriell betriebene Viehzucht

factory hand

n → Fabrikarbeiter(in) m(f)

factory inspector

n → Gewerbeaufsichtsbeamte(r) m, → Gewerbeaufsichtsbeamtin f

factory outlet (store)

n (esp US) → Factoryoutlet-Laden m, → Fabrikverkauf m

factory price

n → Fabrikpreis m

factory ship

n → Fabrikschiff nt

factory shop

n (Brit) → Factoryoutlet-Laden m, → Fabrikverkauf m

factory worker

n → Fabrikarbeiter(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

factory

[ˈfækt/ərɪ]

1. n → fabbrica, stabilimento

2. adj (inspector, work) → di fabbrica

factory

(ˈfӕktəri) – plural ˈfactories – noun

a workshop where manufactured articles are made in large numbers. a car factory; (also adjective) a factory worker.

factory

→ مَصْنَع továrna fabrik Fabrik εργοστάσιο fábrica tehdas usine tvornica fabbrica 工場 공장 fabriek fabrikk fabryka fábrica фабрика fabrik โรงงาน fabrika nhà máy 工厂

I work in a factory → Pracuji v továrně → Jeg arbejder på en fabrik → Ich arbeite in einer Fabrik → Trabajo en una fábrica → Olen töissä tehtaassa → Je travaille dans une usine → Radim u tvornici → Lavoro in fabbrica → 私は工場で働いています → 공장에서 일해요 → Ik werk in een fabriek → Jeg jobber på en fabrikk → Pracuję w fabryce → Eu trabalho em uma fábrica → Jag arbetar på fabrik → Bir fabrikada çalışıyorum → Tôi làm trong nhà máy → 我在工厂工作

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

This young man had been hired out by his master to work in a bagging factory, where his adroitness and ingenuity caused him to be considered the first hand in the place.

View in context

I went over several of these; such as a woollen factory, a carpet factory, and a cotton factory: examined them in every part; and saw them in their ordinary working aspect, with no preparation of any kind, or departure from their ordinary everyday proceedings.

View in context

SOME Workingmen employed in a shoe factory went on a strike, saying: "Why should we continue to work to feed and clothe our employer when we have none too much to eat and wear ourselves?"

View in context

When my father started for himself, there were many men in Manchester who were willing to labor in this way, but they had no factory to work in, no machinery to work with, and no raw cotton to work on, simply because all this indispensable plant, and the materials for producing a fresh supply of it, had been appropriated by earlier comers.

View in context

On benches round the tables in a dirty little room sat some ten factory hands.

View in context

They were before an opening in front of a large factory, from which men and women were streaming for their midday meal.

View in context

He accordingly fitted out a fine ship of four hundred and ninety tons, called the Beaver, and freighted her with a valuable cargo destined for the factory at the mouth of the Columbia, the trade along the coast, and the supply of the Russian establishment.

View in context

At the same time that his agents were purchasing corner lots and entire blocks in the heart of the business section and the waste lands for factory sites, Day was rushing franchises through the city council, capturing the two exhausted water companies and the eight or nine independent street railways, and getting his grip on the Oakland Creek and the bay tide-lands for his dock system.

View in context

In order to attend one of these dances you must be a member of the Give and Take--or, if you belong to the division that starts off with the right foot in waltzing, you must work in Rhinegold's paper-box factory. Still, any Clover Leaf was privileged to escort or be escorted by an outsider to a single dance.

View in context

'But, working under such a gentleman, they don't follow you to the Factory?'

View in context

She reflected upon the collar and cuff factory. It began to appear to her mind as a dreary place of endless grinding.

View in context

Sometimes the factory would start up on half time after a while, but there was no telling--it had been known to stay closed until way into the summer.

View in context