Meaning & use
mass-produced products
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Meanings
phraseplural
Goods made in very large numbers by machines in factories, rather than one at a time by hand.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun phrase; the singular form would be 'a mass-produced product'.
Patterns
- mass-produced products for export
- cheap mass-produced products
- a market full of mass-produced products
The store sells cheap mass-produced products from several countries.
Many shoppers prefer handmade items to mass-produced products.
Mass-produced products often cost less because factories make thousands at once.
phrasepluraldisapproving
Things that are made in a standard way and therefore lack individual character or quality.
Grammar: Used when criticizing sameness; it usually carries a slightly negative tone.
Patterns
- look like mass-produced products
- feel like mass-produced products
The furniture in the hotel looked like mass-produced products, all exactly the same.
Critics say these mass-produced products have no craft or personality.
Common combinations
- cheap mass-produced products
- Cheap mass-produced products flooded the local market.
- mass-produced goods
- The company exports mass-produced goods to Europe.
- mass-produced items
- Mass-produced items are usually cheaper than handmade ones.
- mass-produced clothing
- Most mass-produced clothing is made in large factories.
- a range of mass-produced products
- They offer a wide range of mass-produced products.
Synonyms and how they differ
- factory-made
- Describes goods made in a factory; it focuses on where they are made, while 'mass-produced' stresses the huge number made.
- manufactured
- A more formal word for goods made industrially; it does not always suggest very large quantities.
Opposites
Word family
- mass production noun
- The process of making goods in very large numbers using machines.
- mass-produce verb
- To make something in very large quantities in a factory.
- mass-produced adjective
- Made in large quantities by machines.
Commonly confused: mass-produced products or mass production?
mass-produced products vs mass production
'Mass production' is the process or method; 'mass-produced products' are the actual goods that result from it.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Mass-produced' is the adjective form used before a noun, so 'mass-produced products' is correct. 'Mass production' is a noun and cannot modify 'products' directly, and 'mass-produce' is a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mass-produced products”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.