Origin: Latin suffix -ory
Factory has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing
"The new factory consists of several large interconnected buildings equipped with advanced machinery to manufacture electronics."
The position or state of being a factor.
"The factory of his success was not luck, but years of disciplined practice."
In plain English: A factory is a large building where machines and workers make many products.
"The factory produced thousands of cars last year."
Usage: Use "factory" to refer to an industrial plant where goods are manufactured by machines. Do not use it to mean a factor, which is a cause or influence in a situation.
Having come from the factory in the state it is currently in; original, stock.
"I bought that vintage car directly from a collector who insisted it was still in its original, factory condition."
"The factory workers were tired from their long shift at the large plant."
Usage: Use factory as an adjective to describe items that are brand new and unmodified because they have been sold directly from the manufacturer without any alterations. This term typically applies to products like cars or electronics that retain their original specifications and packaging.
The word factory comes from the noun factor with the addition of the suffix -y. It entered English to describe a place where goods are made or processed, evolving directly from its original sense of a trading post or agent's office.