factory farm

noun

: a large industrialized farm
especially : a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost
factory farming noun

Examples of factory farm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
If these ranches and farms go, we will be forced to choose inhumane and environmentally poisonous factory farms. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 31 Oct. 2024 Even more gruesome are the methods used in the U.S. to kill millions of chickens and turkeys when bird flu is detected on a factory farm. Peter Singer, TIME, 26 Oct. 2024 In principle, there’s a lot of sense in capping the size of factory farms. Marina Bolotnikova, Vox, 10 Oct. 2024 In early 2024, an NFPA expert committee overwhelmingly voted to update its animal housing code, which includes commercial livestock facilities, to require that buildings being built or renovated at mid- and large-sized factory farms install sprinkler systems starting in 2025. Kenny Torrella, Vox, 16 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for factory farm 

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of factory farm was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near factory farm

Cite this Entry

“Factory farm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/factory%20farm. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!