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Synonyms

shopper

American  
[shop-er] / ˈʃɒp ər /

noun

  1. a person who shops.

  2. comparison shopper.

  3. a retail buyer for another person or a business concern.

  4. a locally distributed newspaper of retail advertisements.

shopper British  
/ ˈʃɒpə /

noun

  1. a person who buys goods in a shop

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonshopper noun

Etymology

Origin of shopper

First recorded in 1860–65; shop + -er 1

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.

According to research from InvestorsObserver, a shopper spending $20 on packages of Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs at Target could buy five bags of the candy for $3.99 each in 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The company avoids discounts, with over 80% of net sales at full price, and uses AI to help predict shopper preferences.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

“It’s a tough time to be a car shopper, and it’s a tough time to be an automaker. At the same time it is a tough time to be a dealer, too. Nobody is winning.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

"A lot of communities are organising flea markets," Lin, a 37-year-old shopper, told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

One shopper abandoned a cart, mumbling about a wallet he must have left at home, despite an obvious bulge in his back pocket.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

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.