factory
English · Thesaurus
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factory
- /ˈfæk.tə.ɹi/ UK
- /ˈfæk.tɹi/ UK
- /ˈfæk.tɚ.i/ US
- /ˈfæk.tɹi/ US
Rhymes with -æktəɹi, -æktɹi
Where it comes from
Probably from factor + -y, although in noun sense 1 (“a place where manufacturing takes place”) apparently influenced strongly by association with Classical Latin fact-, the past participial stem of faciō (“to make”); compare manufactory and Latin factōrium (“an oil press”). In noun sense 8 (“a trading establishment”), originally after Portuguese feitoria. In noun sense 9 (“an invoice or inventory”), probably after obsolete Dutch facture (“bill”); see facture.
Compare Dutch factorij, Middle French factorie, Spanish factoría.
noun factories
-
A building or other place where manufacturing takes place.
[…] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and
Similar: manufactory
- A police station. The guys all knew each other and we were having a jolly old chinwag as we marched them out of the house in front of their stunned neighbours and into a van we had called to take them all to the Factory (police station).
- A device or process that produces or manufactures something. Radio became a star factory for journalists.
- A factory farm. chicken factory; pig factory
- In a computer program or library, a function, method, etc. which creates an object. The task factory […] is the object that is responsible for creating instances of those tasks dynamically.
- The original state of an electronic device, as it was when it came from the manufacturer. factory settings; factory defaults; a factory reset
- The position or state of being a factor.
- A trading establishment, especially set up by merchants working in a foreign country. We had here his curate, Mr. Furley, who had been nine years chaplain to the English factory at St. Petersburg […] .
- An invoice or inventory. A short factory of goods sent to Janggamay by Thomas Samuell as principal, Tho. Dryver, and another named Cheque as assistants, anno 1613 in Sciam, the which amounteth as in a long factory at large appeareth, in Sciam money unto T. 2,025 2 2½, collected into this brief as followeth: […]
adjective
- Having come from the factory in the state it is currently in; original, stock. See how there's another layer of metal there? That's not factory.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: manufactory, mill, manufacturing plant, works, workshop, manufacturer, industrial, shop, manufacture, manufacturing, warehouse, studio, maker, workplace, depot, production
Translations
Every language
noun manufacturing place
| Español | fábrica, planta, manufactura, factoría, obraje |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 공장 gongjang |
| 日本語 | 工場 kōjō |
| 中文 | 工廠 /工厂 gōngchǎng, 廠家 /厂家 chǎngjiā, 廠 /厂 chǎng |
| हिन्दी | कार्यशाला kāryaśālā, शिल्पशाला śilpaśālā, कारख़ाना kārxānā |
| Kiswahili | karakana |
| Português | fábrica, engenho, usina |
| Français | usine, fabrique, manufacture |
| Deutsch | Fabrik, Manufaktur, Werk |
| Italiano | fabbrica, impianto, manifattura, stabilimento |
| Ελληνικά | εργοστάσιο ergostásio |
| Română | fabrică, uzină |
| Русский | фа́брика fábrika, заво́д zavód, комбина́т kombinát |
| Tiếng Việt | nhà máy |
| العربية | مَصْنَع maṣnaʕ, مَعْمَل maʕmal |
| עברית | מִפְעָל mif’ál, בֵּית חֲרֹשֶׁת béit-kharóshet |
noun colonial-era trading post operated by merchants in a foreign port
| Русский | факто́рия faktórija |
|---|
Talk about this word "factory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/factory. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. factory. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/factory "factory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/factory.Cite this
@misc{factory_2026,
title = {factory},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/factory},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
