# industry

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɪn.də.stɹi/ · frequency rank #656

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

## 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”).

## Common misspellings (13)
`idnustry`, `inddustry`, `indsutry`, `indusrty`, `indusstry`, `industrry`, `industryy`, `industtry`, `industyr`, `indutsry`, `inndustry`, `inudstry`, `nidustry`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/industry