strip mall

noun

1. a retail complex consisting of stores or restaurants in adjacent spaces in one long building, typically having a narrow parking area directly in front of the stores.

Word History and Origins

Origin of strip mall¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

There, most parcels are likely to be occupied by a strip mall or office building, but some apartments exist in commercial zones as well.

From Los Angeles Times

Finally, she called home from Hemet, a former farming town now sprouting strip malls and tract houses.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet there they were, surprisingly easy to find, drinking lattes at a strip mall Starbucks, browsing magazines at Barnes & Noble and eating eggs with their spouses at a pancake restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times

In the recent case, prosecutors allege that in June she lured Joshua Streeter, 21, to a Pomona strip mall where he was shot dead.

From Los Angeles Times

But not far away are areas full of decaying strip malls backed by blocks of boarded-up houses and threaded through with chewed-up, potholed streets.

From BBC

Related Words

• arcade
• bazaar
• flea market
• mall
• plaza
• shopping mall