industry

/ˈɪn.də.stɹi/

//ˈɪn.də.stɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"industry" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“industry” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #656. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#656
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The tendency to work persistently.

Corpus desk

Index EN-industry · industry · English

industry · rank #656 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #656
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH hold

Nearest frequency peer: hold (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “industry”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “industry” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for industry
PropertyValue
Headwordindustry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪn.də.stɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#656
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “industry”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).industrylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “hold” (#655), “inside” (#657), “happen” (#654). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “industry” is #656. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around industry (IPA /ˈɪn.də.stɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #656 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for industry, with forms such as "idnustry", "inddustry", and "indsutry". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English industry, industrie, from Old French industrie, from Latin industria (“diligence, activity, industry”), from industrius (“diligent, active, zealous”), from Old Latin indostruus (“diligent, active”); origin unknown. Perhaps from indu (“in… The correct English form is industry, spelled I-N-D-U-S-T-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The tendency to work persistently.
  2. 2
    Businesses of the same type, considered as a whole; trade.
  3. 3
    Businesses that produce goods as opposed to services.
  4. 4
    The sector of the economy consisting of large-scale enterprises.
  5. 5
    Automated production of material goods.
  6. 6
    A typological classification of stone tools, associated with a technocomplex.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how industry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Over the years, their industry and business sense made them wealthy.
  2. The ant has made himself illustrious / Through constant industry industrious. / So what? / Would you be calm and placid / If you were full of formic acid?

Etymology

From Middle English industry, industrie, from Old French industrie, from Latin industria (“diligence, activity, industry”), from industrius (“diligent, active, zealous”), from Old Latin indostruus (“diligent, active”); origin unknown. Perhaps from indu (“in”) + ūst-, ūstr-, stem of ūrō (“burn, burn up, consume”, verb), related to Old High German ūstrī (“industry”), Old English andūstrian (“to hate, detest”, literally “to be consumed with zeal”).

Synonyms

diligenceindustriousnessapplicationsectorfieldbusinesses that produce goods

This word in other languages

industria(Español)industrie(Français)Bestreben(Deutsch)indústria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • idnustry
  • inddustry
  • indsutry
  • indusrty
  • indusstry
  • industrry
  • industryy
  • industtry
  • industyr
  • indutsry
  • inndustry
  • inudstry
  • nidustry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of industry - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

idnustry2inddustry1indsutry2indusrty2indusstry1industrry1industryy1industtry1
Edit distance from "industry"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "industry"?
"industry" is spelled I-N-D-U-S-T-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪn.də.stɹi/.
What does "industry" mean?
As a noun, "industry" means: The tendency to work persistently.
What are common misspellings of "industry"?
Common misspellings include "idnustry", "inddustry", "indsutry", "indusrty", "indusstry". The correct spelling is "industry".
How do you pronounce "industry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "industry" is /ˈɪn.də.stɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "industry"?
From Middle English industry, industrie, from Old French industrie, from Latin industria (“diligence, activity, industry”), from industrius (“diligent, active, zealous”), from Old Latin indostruus (“diligent, active”); origin unknown. Perhaps from... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "industry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

problems#662security#641personal#640military#638

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

companies13 variantsespecially13 variantsthinking13 variantsquestions13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list