Synonym Chooser

How is the word industry distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of industry are business, commerce, trade, and traffic. While all these words mean "activity concerned with the supplying and distribution of commodities," industry applies to the producing of commodities, especially by manufacturing or processing, usually on a large scale.

When might business be a better fit than industry?

While the synonyms business and industry are close in meaning, business may be an inclusive term but specifically designates the activities of those engaged in the purchase or sale of commodities or in related financial transactions.

How do commerce and trade relate to one another, in the sense of industry?

Both commerce and trade imply the exchange and transportation of commodities.

When could traffic be used to replace industry?

The meanings of traffic and industry largely overlap; however, traffic applies to the operation and functioning of public carriers of goods and persons.

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of industry McCabe hopes to bring awareness so that the travel industry becomes more transparent about spraying pesticides. Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025 The enthusiasm has spawned an industry that turns offal—a catchall term for an animal’s nonmuscular parts—into pill or powdered form. Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025 Taking away a tool that saves millions of Americans money to boost the tax prep industry's profits is another corrupt giveaway to Big Business. Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025 The crime also unveiled a strange wave of support for Mangione as many Americans cited frustration with health insurance and the way the industry operates. Elizabeth Pritchett, Fox News, 25 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for industry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for industry
Noun
  • After concerns regarding hunting and fishing were quelled, the redesignation effort gained popularity with the West Virginia congressional delegation and was incorporated into an omnibus bill in late 2020.
    Luke Gentile, The Washington Examiner, 17 Apr. 2025
  • At the end of March, the Trump administration’s effort to deport foreign students involved in anti-Israel disruptions on campus received an unexpected endorsement.
    Jimmy Quinn, National Review, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Duties include overseeing the diligence, structuring and execution of private market investments that support the energy transition and other sustainability focused investments consistent with the portfolio strategy.
    Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Reference calls—a critical but time-intensive part of diligence—also benefit from AI summarization.
    Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Tech giants including Amazon, Google and Microsoft offer quantum-as-a-service, bringing the barrier to entry lower than ever, and paving the way for anyone with ideas to start building quantum applications to fit their needs.
    Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • New applications were paused, and 500,000 recipients were left in legal limbo.
    Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • This late-career emergence as an elite quarterback demonstrated both Gannon's persistence and the impact of finally finding the right organizational fit.
    Omaid Homayun, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Such persistence can pay off in the long run: civil society groups in Bangladesh, South Africa, and Sri Lanka eventually chased out corrupt politicians.
    Elizabeth David-Barrett, Foreign Affairs, 4 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • These indestructible treasures have always been buried in matter, awaiting the invention of scanning electron microscopes and scientists with enough assiduity to spend decades on end peering into their atomic eyes.
    Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2023
  • Lee is hardly the first biographer to be wooed by the allure of her subject; to risk being squashed by the weight of her research; or to concede that, despite her assiduity, much will elude her grasp.
    Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2021

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Cite this Entry

“Industry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/industry. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

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