shop around
Britishverb
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to visit a number of shops or stores to compare goods and prices
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to consider a number of possibilities before making a choice
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Look for the best bargain, opportunity, or the like, as in This job offers only minimum wage so she decided to shop around for one with better pay . This expression alludes to looking in different stores in search of bargains or a particular item. [c. 1920]
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Look for a buyer for, offer for sale to various parties, as in The company is now being actively shopped around . [Second half of 1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As ever, the advice for consumers is to shop around.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026
They had previously arranged their trips abroad through a travel agent, but having planned to return to the country for eight years, Dinesh decided to instead shop around online for a cheaper deal.
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026
You should also shop around and make sure that the company you choose is offering the most competitive price.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026
The government will now introduce the power to set minimum standards in the English Devolution Bill, with the aim of reducing the incentive to "shop around" for licences, the committee heard.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
A contract would make it harder for them to do that, and easier for him to sell to one dealer what he had bought from another—and thus to shop around for prices.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
