factory

[fak-tuh-ree, -tree] /ˈfæk tə ri, -tri/
noun, plural factories.
1.
a building or group of buildings with facilities for the manufacture of goods.
2.
any place producing a uniform product, without concern for individuality:
They call it a law school, but it's just a degree factory.
3.
(formerly) an establishment for factors and merchants carrying on business in a foreign country.
Origin
1550-60; < Medieval Latin factōria. See factor, -y3
Related forms
factorylike, adjective
subfactory, noun, plural subfactories.
Examples from the web for factory
  • Heavy-manufacturing and factory-floor jobs have fallen, as expected.
  • But there are perils when managers can no longer prowl through their own factory.
  • No, the entire mirror factory isn't filled with smoke.
  • The factory superintendent nodded politely and led them into a large building with peeling gray stucco walls.
  • Wealthy factory owners and merchants built grand mansions and helped fund even grander churches.
  • His family has been working at the bone factory for generations, he says.
  • Take a virtual tour of a chocolate factory and nibble on the history and science of this beloved treat.
  • But the biggest boost comes from a good solar panel factory.
  • It isn't the vast factory floor of the past, but it is still built for speed.
  • If our local grocery wasn't stocked to the brim with factory farmed food.
British Dictionary definitions for factory

factory

/ˈfæktərɪ/
noun (pl) -ries
1.
  1. a building or group of buildings containing a plant assembly for the manufacture of goods
  2. (as modifier): a factory worker
2.
(rare) a trading station maintained by factors in a foreign country
3.
(Canadian) (formerly) a main trading station for the exchange and transshipment of furs
Derived Forms
factory-like, adjective
Word Origin
C16: from Late Latin factorium; see factor
Word Origin and History for factory
n.

1550s, "estate manager's office," from Middle French factorie, from Late Latin factorium "office for agents (factors)," also "oil press, mill," from Latin factor "doer, maker" (see factor (n.)). Sense of "building for making goods" is first attested 1610s. Factory farm attested from 1890.

Slang definitions & phrases for factory

factory

combining word

Place where what is indicated is done, pursued, used, etc •A jocular appropriation of the term: brain factory/ freak factory/ nut factory (1920s+)

noun

The apparatus used for injecting narcotics; works (1940s+ Narcotics)

Related Terms

bone factory, cracker factory, joint factory, nuthouse