Learn English – the difference between “industry use” and “industrial use”

phrase-usage

"industry use" and "industrial use" were shown in recent news and discussion rose. However, the argument seemed to focus on food industry.

Best Answer

There may be a slight difference in meaning: industry use is likely to refer to usage by a particular industry, while industrial use would refer to use by any industry.

Hypothetical example:

Acme Corp. is accused of contaminating the aquifer with uranium tetroxide. Industry use of water has tripled in the last decade.

Here, "industry" would probably refer to the nuclear industry. "Industrial" would include all industries in the affected region.

A kitchen appliance might be labelled "Not for industrial use". The intention is to warn the user that the machine is designed for occasional use, and would not withstand continuous operation. There, it would be unacceptable to substitute "industry".