capital-intensive

adjective

cap·​i·​tal-in·​ten·​sive ˈka-pə-tᵊl- in-ˈten(t)-siv 

ˈkap-tᵊl-

: having a high capital cost per unit of output

especially : requiring greater expenditure in the form of capital than of labor

Examples of capital-intensive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bloom added that the most negatively affected industries could be capital-intensive ones, like energy, utilities, and manufacturing, which have the most reason to exercise caution. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025

The company announced a wind-down of its manufacturing operations in February 2024, aiming to discontinue capital-intensive activities by the end of 2025. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 10 Mar. 2025

The capital-intensive purchase wound up tanking Mattel’s stock price within two years. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025

This is especially true for companies with weaker balance sheets or those in capital-intensive industries. —Ivan Illan, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for capital-intensive

• antihypertensive
• apprehensive
• coextensive
• comprehensive
• hypertensive
• hypotensive
• inexpensive
• inoffensive
• normotensive
• counteroffensive
• defensive
• expensive