Definition of produce verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

produce

verb

/prəˈdjuːs/

/prəˈduːs/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they produce	/prəˈdjuːs/ /prəˈduːs/
he / she / it produces	/prəˈdjuːsɪz/ /prəˈduːsɪz/
past simple produced	/prəˈdjuːst/ /prəˈduːst/
past participle produced	/prəˈdjuːst/ /prəˈduːst/
-ing form producing	/prəˈdjuːsɪŋ/ /prəˈduːsɪŋ/

jump to other results

goods

produce something to make things to be sold, especially in large quantities synonym manufacture

Our company mainly produces goods for export.
We pride ourselves on producing high-quality products.
The local factory produces electronic components.

Synonyms makemakedo ▪ create ▪ develop ▪ produce ▪ generate ▪ formThese words all mean to make something from parts or materials, or to cause something to exist or happen.make to create or prepare something by combining materials or putting parts together; to cause something to exist or happen:

She makes her own clothes.
She made a good impression on the interviewer.

do (rather informal) to make or prepare something, especially something artistic or something to eat:

He did a beautiful drawing of a house.
Who’s doing the food for the party?

create to make something exist or happen, especially something new that did not exist before:

Scientists disagree about how the universe was created.

make or create?Make is a more general word and is more often used for physical things: you would usually make a table/dress/cake but create jobs/wealth. You can use create for something physical in order to emphasize how original or unusual the object is: Try this new dish, created by our head chef. develop (used especially in business contexts) to think of and produce a new product:

to develop new software

produce to make things to be sold; to create something using skill:

a factory that produces microchips

generate to produce or create something, especially power, money or ideas:

to generate electricity
Brainstorming is a good way of generating ideas.

form [often passive] to make something from something else; to make something into something else:

Rearrange the letters to form a new word.
The chain is formed from 136 links.

Patterns

to make/create/develop/produce/generate/form something from/out of something
to make/form something into something
to make/produce wine
to create/develop a new product
to create/produce/generate income/profits/wealth
to produce/generate electricity/heat/power

Synonyms productproductgoods ▪ commodity ▪ merchandise ▪ produceThese are all words for things that are produced to be sold.product a thing that is produced or grown, usually to be sold:

to create/develop/launch a new product

goods things that are produced to be sold:

cotton/leather goods
electrical goods

commodity (economics) a product or raw material that can be bought and sold, especially between countries:

rice, flour and other basic commodities

merchandise [U] goods that are bought or sold; things that you can buy that are connected with or advertise a particular event or organization:

official Olympic merchandise

goods or merchandise?Choose goods if the emphasis is on what the product is made of or what it is for: leather/household goods. Choose merchandise if the emphasis is less on the product itself and more on its brand or the fact of buying/selling it.produce [U] things that have been grown or made, especially things connected with farming:

We sell only fresh local produce.

Patterns

consumer/industrial products/goods/commodities
household products/goods
farm products/produce
luxury products/goods/commodities
to sell/market a product/goods/a commodity/merchandise/produce
to export a product/goods/a commodity/merchandise
to buy/purchase a product/goods/a commodity/merchandise/produce

make naturally

produce something to grow or make something as part of a natural process; to have a baby or young animal

The region produces over 50 per cent of the country's wheat.
I would like to find out more about how our food is produced.
All our meat is locally produced.
These shrubs produce bright red berries.
Under stress, the body produces adrenalin.
Our cat produced kittens last week.
Her duty was to produce an heir to the throne.
produce something from something The wine is produced from Chardonnay grapes.

Extra Examples

The country produces more than two million barrels of oil per day.
the wine-producing regions of France
the sale of sustainably produced timber
These plants produce bell-shaped flowers.
Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells.
fruit and vegetables that are produced locally
organically produced food

Topics Farminga2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

domestically
locally
commercially
…

verb + produce

be able to
can
manage to
…

preposition

from
with

See full entry

create with skill

produce something to create something, especially when skill is needed

She produced a delicious meal out of a few leftovers.
By 1912 he was producing purely abstract works.
United produced their best performance of the season.
He produces reports on economic and social trends for manufacturers and trade associations.

Extra Examples

She moved to California intending to produce a third novel.
the sounds that are typically produced by an American orchestra
The letter has been produced with digital technology.
this handsomely produced reference work
The technology can be used to produce interactive educational programs.
He argued that wealth is produced by the labour power of the workers.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

domestically
locally
commercially
…

verb + produce

be able to
can
manage to
…

preposition

from
with

See full entry

result/effect

produce something to cause a particular result or effect synonym bring about

A phone call to the manager produced the result she wanted.
His words failed to produce the desired effect.
These reforms will produce little change.
Her appearance produced a feeling of excitement in the crowd.

Extra Examples

Their strategy produced the desired outcome.
Which method is likely to produce the best results?
The drug produced an improvement in all but one case.
The prime minister's speech produced an angry response from opposition parties.
The questionnaire produced 9 000 replies.

Topics Change, cause and effectb1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

domestically
locally
commercially
…

verb + produce

be able to
can
manage to
…

preposition

from
with

See full entry

show/bring out

to show something or make something appear from somewhere

produce something from/out of something He produced a letter from his pocket.
produce something She failed to produce any evidence to support these claims.
At the meeting the finance director produced the figures for the previous year.

person

produce somebody if a town, country, etc. produces somebody with a particular skill or quality, the person comes from that town, country, etc.

He is the greatest athlete this country has ever produced.

movie/play

produce something to be in charge of preparing a film, play, etc. for the public to see

She produced a TV series about adopted children.

Extra Examples

The series was obviously cheaply produced.
a professionally produced video
a slickly produced thriller

Topics Musicb2, Film and theatreb2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

domestically
locally
commercially
…

verb + produce

be able to
can
manage to
…

preposition

from
with

See full entry

Word Originlate Middle English (in sense 5 of the verb): from Latin producere, from pro- ‘forward’ + ducere ‘to lead’. Current noun senses date from the late 17th cent.

See produce in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee produce in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: produce

Other results

All matches

Nearby words

trait

noun

From the Word list

Oxford 5000

Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day