from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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]