What does foundry mean?
Word: Foundry
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Foundry means a factory where metal or glass is heated until it is liquid and then poured into moulds to make objects.
Word origin: From French fonderie, built on the French verb fondre.
How do you spell foundry?
Syllables: foun - dry
Tricky part: The first syllable has the same vowel sound as town, but it is spelt ou, not ow, so fowndry is a slip to watch for.
Watch out for: fowndry, faundry
Memory tip: Metal pours out in a foundry, and the vowel sound after the f is written ou, as it is in out.
Foundry in a sentence
Example 1: Our class trip to a brass foundry in Moradabad ended with each of us ringing a newly cast bell.
Example 2: Sparks flew as the foundry workers tipped the glowing metal into rows of sand moulds.
Example 3: The bronze statue in the town square was cast at a foundry near Kolkata.
Fun Fact
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, which cast the great bell known as Big Ben, made bells for more than 400 years before it closed in 2017.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) boundary
b) laundry
c) quandary
d) foundary
Show answer
d) foundary. Foundry has no vowel between the d and the r, just like laundry.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Foundry comes from the French verb fondre, which means ___.
a) to build
b) to find
c) to carry
d) to melt
Show answer
d) to melt. A foundry is the place where metal is melted and cast, which is what fondre describes.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
1234567 ydnrfuo
a) 5763241
b) 5763421
c) 7563241
d) 5736241
Show answer
a) 5763241. Taken in this order the letters spell foundry.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. foundry 2. tannery 3. refinery a. a place where animal skins are made into leather b. a factory where crude oil or sugar is made pure c. a works where bells, statues and machine parts are cast in metal
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
Show answer
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. Metal is cast in a foundry, leather is made in a tannery and oil or sugar is cleaned in a refinery.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A foundry would be the right place to order ___.
a) a cotton school shirt
b) a paper kite
c) a wooden cricket bat
d) an iron manhole cover
Show answer
d) an iron manhole cover
2. Why do people who work in a foundry wear thick gloves and face shields?
a) they handle extremely hot materials
b) they need to stay quiet at work
c) they work in very cold rooms
d) they must keep the moulds clean
Show answer
a) they handle extremely hot materials
