Meaning & use
factory gate
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Meanings
nounusually singularbusiness
The price of a product when it leaves the factory, before transport, taxes, or shop profits are added.
Grammar: Often used before another noun, as in 'factory-gate price' or 'factory-gate cost'. It is rarely used with 'a' or 'the' on its own.
Patterns
- factory-gate price
- factory-gate cost
- at the factory gate
The factory-gate price of the new phone is lower than the retail price.
Farmers complained that the factory-gate cost of milk barely covers their production.
Economists track factory-gate prices to measure inflation early in the supply chain.
nouncountable
The physical entrance or exit of a factory, where workers and vehicles go in and out.
Grammar: This is the literal meaning and is countable: you can say 'a factory gate' or 'the factory gates'.
Patterns
- at the factory gate
- outside the factory gate
- the factory gates
Protesters gathered at the factory gate to demand better pay.
Trucks lined up outside the factory gate waiting to load goods.
She waited by the factory gate for her father to finish his shift.
Word forms
| plural | factory gates |
|---|
Common combinations
- factory-gate price
- The factory-gate price does not include sales tax.
- factory-gate cost
- They reduced the factory-gate cost by using cheaper materials.
- at the factory gate
- Security checks everyone at the factory gate.
- outside the factory gate
- A crowd waited outside the factory gate for news.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ex-works
- A business term meaning the price at the factory, but it is more technical and used in contracts rather than general news.
- wholesale price
- The price for buying in large amounts, often from a wholesaler, which may be higher than the factory-gate price.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: factory gate or factory floor?
factory gate vs factory floor
The area inside a factory where workers and machines operate, not the entrance or the price.
Practice
The company announced that the _____ of its new electric car would be under $20,000, before shipping and taxes.
Choose one answer.
'Factory-gate price' fits because it means the price when the car leaves the factory, before extra charges. 'Factory gate' alone is the physical entrance, not a price. 'Factory-gate cost' is possible but less common for a product's selling price. 'Retail price' is the opposite, as it includes shop profits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “factory gate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.