manufacturing

The word “manufacturing” means the business or process of turning raw materials into finished products, usually at scale. In plain terms, the industry or process of producing goods, often in factories.

“Manufacturing” is pronounced man-yuu-FAKT-shuh-rihng (/ˌmænjəˈfækt͡ʃəɹɪŋ/ in IPA).

Here is “manufacturing” used in a sentence: “The town's economy relies heavily on manufacturing.”

Depending on how it is used, “manufacturing” can be a noun and an adjective.

“Manufacturing” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Manufacturing” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the business or process of turning raw materials into finished products, usually at scale.

Manufacturing specifically means making physical goods from raw materials, usually in factories and at scale. Production is a broader term covering the creation of any output — goods, energy, crops, even films. All manufacturing is production, but not all production is manufacturing. Manufacturing implies machinery, assembly, and tangible finished products.

Common categories include repetitive manufacturing (the same product on a continuous line), batch production (limited runs), job-shop work (small custom orders), and continuous-process manufacturing (materials like chemicals or fuel that flow non-stop). Modern factories increasingly use additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, to build products layer by layer.

It turns raw materials into the goods people use every day, from cars to medicines, and is a major engine of national economies. Manufacturing creates jobs, drives innovation and exports, and supports countless related industries in supply chains. A strong manufacturing base is often seen as central to a country's economic resilience.