industrial revolution \industrial revolution\ n.
   The changes in the methods of production as well as the
   resulting changes in economic and social organization
   accompanying the replacement of hand labor by power-driven
   machinery. It started in England in about 1760, and spread to
   other countries with very varying time lags. The introduction
   of powered machinery such as the steam engine and power loom
   led to the concentration of large areas of manufacturing in
   large companies, and made some goods more plentiful and
   cheaper by mechanical production and economies of scale.
   [PJC]

	

	Industrial Revolution
    n 1: the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial
         nation [syn: Industrial Revolution, technological
         revolution]