factory

Pluralfactories

1. 1
   building (goods)nouncountable

   A building where workers and machines make things in large amounts.

   Like a huge kitchen where many cooks make the same food, but for cars or toys instead.

   The factory makes toys for children all over the world.

   Hundreds of people work at the car factory near our town.

   UsageSay what it makes first: a car factory. You work in or at one.

   Similarplant, works, mill, facility

2. 2
   original partsadjectivecolloquial

   Still the same as when it was made, not changed or swapped for new parts.

   Like keeping the original buttons on a coat instead of sewing on new ones.

   The engine is still factory, with no changes at all.

   He kept the factory wheels instead of buying new ones.

   UsageCan come before a noun or after is: factory paint; the engine is factory.

   Similaroriginal, stock, unmodified, standard

   Oppositemodified, custom

   Note
3. 3
   device resetnoununcountablebefore a noun

   The original setup of a device, the way it was when it first came from the maker.

   Like a new notebook with blank pages, before anyone writes in it.

   If the app keeps crashing, try going back to factory settings.

   A factory reset wiped every photo she had saved on the phone.

   UsageMostly in factory settings and factory reset.

   Similardefault

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A large farm that raises many animals at once using machines and tight, crowded spaces.

   Like a packed warehouse, but full of animals instead of boxes.

   The hens live their whole lives inside a giant egg factory.

   Neighbors complained about the smell from the new pig factory.

   UsageOften used with the animal name first, like pig factory. It can suggest criticism of how the animals are raised.

5. 5
   turns out lotsnouncountable

   Something that makes or turns out a lot of one thing, like a machine or system does.

   Like a machine that keeps making the same thing over and over.

   The talent show became a factory for new young singers.

   Their kitchen turned into a cookie factory before the holidays.

   UsageOften a factory for something, or a hit factory.

   Similarmachine, generator

   Note

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