Factory, Industry, and Plant

Factory, Industry, and Plant Factory, Industry, and Plant Factory, Industry, and Plant By Maeve Maddox An ESL speaker asks for a discussion of the nouns factory, industry, and plant in the context of the following: â€Å"mineral water factory,† â€Å"mineral water industry,† and â€Å"mineral water plant.† factory An earlier meaning of factory was â€Å"the employment, office, or position of a factor.† A factor, as in the word cornfactor, is â€Å"an agent who buys and sells, or transacts other business, on behalf of another person or company.† In the context of manufacturing, a factory is â€Å"a building or range of buildings for the manufacture or assembly of goods or for the processing of substances or materials.† The earliest OED citation of this meaning of factory (1618) refers to a facility for the printing and manufacture of books. industry The noun industry has several meanings. The relevant definition in this discussion is this one: A particular form or sector of productive work, trade, or manufacture. In later use also more generally: any commercial activity or enterprise. Also with modifying word indicating the type of activity or principal product: banking industry, car industry, film industry, heavy industry, service industry, tourist industry, etc. plant The noun plant has numerous meanings, but in the context of manufacturing, plant is often a synonym for factory: the premises, fittings, and equipment of a business; a factory, a place where an industrial process is carried out. In extended use: the workers employed at a business, institution, or factory. â€Å"A mineral water factory† can describe a place â€Å"for the processing of mineral water.† Perhaps more commonly, such a facility is called â€Å"a bottling plant.† The phrase â€Å"mineral water industry† connotes all the commercial activity that goes into the acquisition, preparation, and sale of mineral water. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors75 Synonyms for â€Å"Hard†