What does industrialize mean?
Industrialize means to develop or reorganize a country, region, company, or economic activity around industry, manufacturing, and large-scale production. Its use is especially common in historical and economic discussions of how societies shifted from predominantly agricultural or craft-based economies toward factory production, mechanization, and modern infrastructure. The process usually involved investment in factories, transportation, energy systems, and urban development, but it could also entail major changes in labor, trade, and the environment. The word can be used transitively, as in “industrialize the economy,” or intransitively, as when a region “industrializes rapidly.” Although often descriptive and neutral, the term can also evoke pollution, crowded factories, harsh working conditions, and the disruption of traditional communities. Its historical significance lies in its association with the large-scale economic and social transformation commonly called the Industrial Revolution.
verbTo develop or organize an area, country, or system as an industrial economy or production system. It can also mean to make something industrial in character or to increase the role of industry within a society.
- To develop a country, region, or economy by expanding industrial production, manufacturing, and associated infrastructure.
- To organize an activity or process on an industrial scale, often implying mass production.
- To make a society, place, or activity increasingly characterized by industry or machine-based production.
"The government sought to industrialize the northern region by investing in manufacturing and transport infrastructure."
"Railways helped nineteenth-century Britain industrialize by moving raw materials and manufactured goods efficiently."
"The company industrialized the harvesting process without eliminating the region's traditional craft production."
Industrialization transformed how goods were made, but it also brought factories, urbanization, pollution, and sweeping changes in everyday work.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does industrialize come from?
Industrialize was formed in English from industrial, meaning “relating to industry,” together with the suffix -ize, which forms verbs denoting action or transformation. The adjective industrial ultimately comes through French from Latin industrialis, derived from industria, “diligence, activity, or industry.” The Latin family also includes industriosus, “diligent or active,” which is the source of industrious. Thus, the English word belongs to a semantic lineage concerned with purposeful activity, production, and organized work.
Related word forms
How industrialize is actually used
The word is most often used in historical, economic, and political contexts. It can carry a neutral sense of economic development, but it may also suggest the social and environmental costs associated with rapid industrialization. The spelling “industrialize” is standard in US English; “industrialise” is standard in British English.
Easily confused with industrialize
To industrialize is to develop or reorganize a society or system around industry, whereas industrious describes a person who is diligent and hardworking.