shop

[ shop ]

noun

1. a retail store, especially a small one.
2. a small store or department in a large store selling a specific or select type of goods:

   the ski shop at Smith's.

3. the workshop of a craftsperson or artisan.
4. the workshop of a person who works in a manual trade; place for doing specific, skilled manual work:

   a carpenter's shop.

5. any factory, office, or business:

   Our ad agency is a well-run shop.

6. Education.
   1. a course of instruction in a trade, as carpentry, printing, etc., consisting chiefly of training in the use of its tools and materials.
   2. a classroom in which such a course is given.
7. one's trade, profession, or business as a subject of conversation or preoccupation.

verb (used without object)

, shopped, shop·ping.

1. to visit shops and stores for purchasing or examining goods.
2. to seek or examine goods, property, etc., offered for sale:

   Retail merchants often stock their stores by shopping in New York.

3. to seek a bargain, investment, service, etc. (usually followed by for ):

   I'm shopping for a safe investment that pays good interest.

verb (used with object)

, shopped, shop·ping.

1. to seek or examine goods, property, etc., offered for sale in or by:

   She's shopping the shoe stores this afternoon.

2. Chiefly British Informal.
   1. to put into prison; jail.
   2. to behave treacherously toward; inform on; betray.
3. Slang. to try to sell (merchandise or a project) in an attempt to obtain an order or contract.

interjection

1. (used in a store, shop, etc., in calling an employee to wait on a customer.)

shop

/ ʃɒp /

noun

1. a place, esp a small building, for the retail sale of goods and services
2. an act or instance of shopping, esp household shopping

   the weekly shop

3. a place for the performance of a specified type of work; workshop
4. all over the shop informal.
   1. in disarray

      his papers were all over the shop

   2. in every direction

      I've searched for it all over the shop

5. shut up shop
   1. to close business at the end of the day or permanently
   2. to become defensive or inactive
6. talk shop
   to speak about one's work, esp when meeting socially, sometimes with the effect of excluding those not similarly employed

verb

1. introften foll byfor to visit a shop or shops in search of (goods) with the intention of buying them
2. slang.
   tr to inform on or betray, esp to the police

Other Words From

• inter·shop adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shop¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English shoppe (noun), Old English sceoppa “booth”; akin to scypen “stall” ( shippon ), German Schopf “lean-to,” Schuppen “shed”

Word History and Origins

Origin of shop¹

Old English sceoppa stall, booth; related to Old High German scopf shed, Middle Dutch schoppe stall

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. set up shop, to go into business; begin business operations:

   to set up shop as a taxidermist.

2. shut up shop,
   1. to close a business temporarily, as at the end of the day.
   2. to suspend business operations permanently:

      They couldn't make a go of it and had to shut up shop.

3. talk shop, to discuss one's trade, profession, or business:

   After dinner we all sat around the table and talked shop.

More idioms and phrases containing shop

In addition to the idiom beginning with shop , also see bull in a china shop ; close up (shop) ; set up (shop) ; shut up (shop) ; talk shop .

Example Sentences

Sonny and Cher met in a coffee shop, but at the time she lied about her age.

From Salon

The demographic change made it difficult for older people to live in Senboku-NT as neighborhood shops closed one after another, leaving frail older adults unable to maintain their daily life within walking distance.

From Science Daily

“You can see Syrian shops here,” Husam, a Syrian refugee, told us as he showed us around after Friday prayers.

From BBC

The six large floral arrangements that Emily Marriott made for her small wedding after shopping at the Original Los Angeles Flower Market the day before.

From Los Angeles Times

Planning documents show Mr Saverimutto said the coffee shop would provide work experience, training, and a barista course.

From BBC

Related Words

• boutique
• chain
• deli
• department store
• emporium
• market
• mill
• outlet
• showroom
• stand
• store
• supermarket