meaning - Build, manufacture, produce - differences and contexts

to build, to manufacture, to produce something

Are these synonyms, and what is the appropriate context for each of them? What would be appropriate in context of a complex product built in small series?

Answer

These are basically synonyms. Produce is the most general of these terms. Production could be willful and intentional as when producing boats, or passive as when producing an odor. It could refer to the inception of a new thing as in movie production, or showing something that already existed, as in "He produced a credit card from his wallet." That last usage is perhaps takes a little artistic license, but it is fairly common.

Build is more specific. It refers to making something new. You can build structures, relationships, organizations, machines, or any number of other things, but generally, it is an intentional act which involves some effort.

In this similar context, manufacture is an even more specific word which refers to a more streamlined and perhaps automated type of building. One thinks of factories where manufacturing takes place. Another meaning refers to something being fake, as in "He manufactured some lame excuse." I suppose that this meaning probably stems from factory manufacture of products which are inferior imitations of their hand-made predecessors.

I would use build or manufacture to talk about boats. If you use the word manufacture, you might draw focus to their lack of individuality, the fact that they are being produced in series. Or it might stress the ease with which several can be produced. If you choose the word build instead, you might draw attention to the effort put into each individual boat, or at the very least avoid the connotations of manufacture. I would not use the word produce. It's so general that it seems empty or overly vague for that context.