INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Definition & Meaning

industrial revolution

[in-duhs-tree-uhl rev-uh-loo-shuhn]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

none the industrial revolution or the Industrial Revolution the totality of the changes in economic and social organization that began about 1760 in England and later in other countries, characterized chiefly by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines, such as the power loom and the steam engine, and by the concentration of industry in large establishments.
any period of change to the economic and social organization of a country, region, etc., that is characterized by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines and the concentration of industry in large establishments.

Industrial Revolution

noun

the transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries of first Britain and then other W European countries and the US into industrial nations

Industrial Revolution

The rapid industrial growth that began in England during the middle of the eighteenth century and then spread over the next 50 years to many other countries, including the United States. The revolution depended on devices such as the steam engine (see James Watt), which were invented at a rapidly increasing rate during the period. The Industrial Revolution brought on a rapid concentration of people in cities and changed the nature of work for many people. (See Luddites.)

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of industrial revolution¹

First recorded in 1840–50

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Women also worked on family farms, tending to animals or helping to process food, in family businesses, or in factories in the early days of the Industrial Revolution.

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Reeves said: "These are investments to make sure the towns and cities which powered our last industrial revolution will play their part in our next industrial revolution, to reduce our reliance on overseas oil and gas and protect working families from price shocks."

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Now, 200 years on from its launch in 1829, it may well be time for another industrial revolution, of sorts.

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"Salmon's been part of this region's industrial revolution," he says.

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Light pollution from terrestrial sources has been a gradually growing menace to dark skies since the Industrial Revolution, as electrical lighting, explosive population growth, and dramatic increases in industry over the years have steadily brightened the sky while dimming the stars, especially near large urban centers.

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industrial relations industrials

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