industrialisation

IPA/ɪndˌʌstɹɪəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/
IPA/ɪndˌʌstɹɪələzˈeɪʃən/

industrialisation — noun

1. the process in which a country or region builds up factories, mines, and power p

1.nounC1
Definition

the process in which a country or region builds up factories, mines, and power plants so that manufacturing replaces farming as the main economic activity

Example

Layla's university dissertation examined the industrialisation of South Korea during the 1970s.

uncountable noun followed by 'of' + region

Rapid industrialisation in Vietnam has drawn millions of workers from the countryside into new factories.

collocation: rapid industrialisation

Common collocations
  • rapid industrialisation
  • industrialisation of [country]
  • state-led industrialisation
  • large-scale industrialisation
Synonyms
Antonyms

Usage Note

Frequently modified by adjectives such as 'rapid', 'large-scale', 'heavy', or 'state-led'. The preposition 'of' introduces the place undergoing the change (e.g. 'the industrialisation of China').

Common Mistakes

The country needs more industrialisation of its agriculture.
The country needs more mechanisation of its agriculture.
'industrialisation' refers to manufacturing industries, not farming methods.

2. the major social and economic changes that occurred when European and North Amer

2.nounC1
Definition

the major social and economic changes that occurred when European and North American countries built large-scale manufacturing industries during the 18th and 19th centuries

Example

Industrialisation in Britain began with the cotton textile mills of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

specific geographic detail anchoring the historical period

Obi's grandfather worked in a Welsh coal mine during the height of industrialisation.

Common collocations
  • early industrialisation
  • during industrialisation
  • the age of industrialisation
Synonyms
  • the Industrial Revolution

    refers specifically to the historical period; 'industrialisation' is the process that occurred during it

  • mechanisation

    narrower — only the use of machines, not the full social transformation

Usage Note

In historical contexts, 'industrialisation' (often capitalised as 'Industrialisation' within a specific period reference) typically pairs with 'urbanisation', 'mechanisation', and 'the Industrial Revolution'. Distinguish from Sense 1 — this sense is time-bound (roughly 1760–1900 in Europe) and emphasises social consequences rather than the economic process itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Industrialisation' (British) and 'industrialization' (American) are spelling variants of the same word — use whichever matches your reader's variety. 'Mechanisation' is a narrower term that describes replacing human or animal labour with machines, which is one part of industrialisation but not the whole picture (for instance, a farm can be mechanised without the country becoming industrialised). 'Modernisation' is broader and includes changes to law, education, and culture that may accompany industrialisation but also happen without it. 'Urbanisation' — the movement of people into cities — frequently goes hand in hand with industrialisation but is a distinct demographic trend. 'Deindustrialisation' describes the opposite process, when manufacturing shrinks and service industries take over. For example, Japan's industrialisation after 1950 involved mechanisation and urbanisation together, while the UK's deindustrialisation in the 1980s saw factory closures in cities like Sheffield and Newcastle.

industrialisation ↗mechanisation ↗modernisationurbanisation ↗deindustrialisation ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • the industrialisation of [region]
  • the age of industrialisation
  • the drive towards industrialisation

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

'Industrialisation' entered English in the late 19th century, borrowed from French 'industrialisation'. The French word was formed from 'industrialiser' (to make industrial) plus the suffix '-ation', which turns a verb into a noun describing a process. The root goes back to Latin 'industria', meaning diligence or hard work. The word first appeared in English in 1892 and became widely used to describe the rapid factory-building and social change of the 19th century.