noun
1
BAD : The biggest industries in Jakobsberg are Philips and IBM.
GOOD : The biggest companies in Jakobsberg are Philips and IBM.
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COMPANY · FACTORY · INDUSTRY · MILL · PLANT · WORKS
Company an organization that makes or sells goods or that sells services: ‘My father works for an insurance company.’ ‘IBM is one of the biggest companies in the electronics industry.’
Factory a place where goods such as furniture, carpets, curtains, clothes, plates, toys, bicycles, sports equipments, drinks and packaged food are produced: ‘The company’s UK factory produces 500 golf trolleys a week.’
Industry (1) all the people, factories, companies etc involved in a major area of production: ‘the steel industry’, the clothing industry’
(2) all industries considered together as a single thing: ‘Industry has developed rapidly over the years at the expense of agriculture.’
Mill (1) a place where a particular type of material is made: ‘a cotton mill’, ‘a textile mill’, a paper mill’ (2) a place where flour is made from grain: ‘a flour mill’
Plant a factory or building where vehicles, engines, weapons, heavy machine, drugs or industrial chemicals are produced, where chemical processes are carried out, or where power is generated:‘Vauxhall-Opel’s UK car plants’, ‘Honda’s new engine plant at Microconcord, Swindon’, ‘a sewage plant’, ‘a wood treatment plant’. ‘ICI’s £100m plant’, ‘the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria’
Works an industrial building where materials such as cement, steel, and bricks are produced, or where industrial processes are carried out: ‘The drop in car and van sales has led to redundancies in the country’s steel works.’
2
BAD : Many industries have been closed because of the recession.
GOOD : Many factories have been closed because of the recession.
BAD : There are car industries all over the place.
GOOD : There are car factories/plants all over the place.
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See Language Note above
3
BAD : They are demanding that all the nuclear industries are shut down.
GOOD : They are demanding that all the nuclear plants are shut down.
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See Language Note above
4
BAD : Another thing that education has changed is the industry.
GOOD : Another thing that education has changed is industry.
BAD : The industry as a whole must become more environmentally friendly.
GOOD : Industry as a whole must become more environmentally friendly.
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When industry means all industries seen together as one thing, it is an uncountable noun: 'She can't decide whether she wants a career in banking or in industry.'