mall

American  

[mawl, mal] / mɔl, mæl /

noun

1. Also called shopping mall.  a large retail complex containing a variety of stores and often restaurants and other business establishments housed in a series of connected or adjacent buildings or in a single large building.

2. a large area, usually lined with shade trees and shrubbery, used as a public walk or promenade.

3. Chiefly Upstate New York. a strip of land, usually planted or paved, separating lanes of opposite traffic on highways, boulevards, etc.

4. the game of pall-mall.

5. the mallet used in the game of pall-mall.

6. the place or alley where pall-mall was played.

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mall British  

/ mɔːl, mæl /

noun

1. a shaded avenue, esp one that is open to the public

2. short for shopping mall

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Etymology

Origin of mall

1635–45; the Mall, a fashionable tree-lined promenade in 18th-century London, where originally the game pall-mall ( def. ) was played; mell ²

Example Sentences

Our clique comes storming down the mall food court in that classic slow-motion strut, letting us know right away what we’re in for.

From Los Angeles Times

At the start of the conflict, authorities shut malls in parts of the Gulf.

From The Wall Street Journal

In 2024, more than 92 million passengers made their way through its gleaming, marble-floored halls and sparkling, brightly lit shopping malls.

From BBC

If you visit Jeddah or Riyadh you will see women working in offices, malls and airports.

From The Wall Street Journal

Set in a Dallas shopping mall, “Forbidden Fruits” revolves around an elite clique of retail employees who run a witches’ coven out of the basement of their boho boutique Free Eden.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• market
• plaza
• shopping center
• shopping mall