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industrial revolution
noun
: a rapid major change in an economy (as in England in the late 18th century) marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery or by an important change in the prevailing types and methods of use of such machines
Examples of industrial revolution in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For decades, British historians similarly dismissed the contention that slavery profits partially sustained the industrial revolution, an argument made back in 1944 by Eric Williams, in his book Capitalism and Slavery.
—Corinne Fowler / Made By History, TIME, 17 June 2024
With the advent of the industrial revolution, growth rates in rich and poor nations diverged even further.
—Dev Patel, Foreign Affairs, 12 June 2024
The era of colonization and slavery vastly expanded the economic and military reach of some nation-states and their allied corporations, enabling the worldwide extraction of natural resources and exploitation of labor to feed the emerging industrial revolution in Europe and North America.
—Ashish Kothari, Scientific American, 1 June 2021
The rise of generative AI is a new industrial revolution and Nvidia expects to play a major role as the technology shifts to personal computers, Huang told attendees at a keynote address at National Taiwan University.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 6 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for industrial revolution
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'industrial revolution.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1840, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of industrial revolution was
in 1840
Dictionary Entries Near industrial revolution
Cite this Entry
“Industrial revolution.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/industrial%20revolution. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Kids Definition
industrial revolution
noun
: a rapid major change in an economy (as in England in the late 18th century) marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery
More from Merriam-Webster on industrial revolution
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about industrial revolution
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