Oxford Essential Dictionary
British) (American store) noun
a building where you buy things:
a bookshop
Do you need anything from the shops?
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
shop
I. shop1 S1 W1 /ʃɒp $ ʃɑːp/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: noun: ↑shop, ↑shopper, ↑shopping; verb: ↑shop]
[Language: Old English; Origin: sceoppa 'stall']
1. PLACE WHERE YOU BUY THINGS [countable] especially British English a building or part of a building where you can buy things, food, or services SYN store American English
toy/pet/shoe/gift etc shop
Her brother runs a record shop in Chester.
a barber’s shop
a fish-and-chip shop
the local shops
Shirley saw her reflection in the shop window.
in the shops
New potatoes are in the shops now.
I’m just going down to the shops.
wander/browse around the shops
I spent a happy afternoon wandering around the shops. ⇨ ↑bucket shop, ↑corner shop, ↑coffee shop
2. PLACE THAT MAKES/REPAIRS THINGS [countable] a place where something is made or repaired:
The generators are put together in the machine shop.
a bicycle repair shop ⇨ ↑shop floor, ↑shop steward
3. SCHOOL SUBJECT (also shop class) [uncountable] American English a subject taught in schools that shows students how to use tools and machinery to make or repair things
in shop
Doug made this table in shop.
wood/metal/print etc shop
One auto shop class is run just for girls.
4. set up shop informal to start a business
5. shut up shop British English, close up shop American English informal to close a shop or business, either temporarily or permanently
6. talk shop informal to talk about things that are related to your work, especially in a way that other people find boring:
I’m fed up with you two talking shop. ⇨ ↑shop talk
7. all over the shop British English spoken
a) scattered around untidily:
There were bits of paper all over the shop.
b) confused and disorganized:
I’m all over the shop this morning.
8. GO SHOPPING [singular] British English spoken an occasion when you go shopping, especially for food and other things you need regularly:
She always does the weekly shop on a Friday.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ shop especially British English, store especially American English a building or place where things are sold: She's gone to the shops to get some milk. | a clothes shop | Our local store has sold out of sugar for making jam.
▪ boutique a small shop that sells fashionable clothes or other objects: a little boutique which specializes in bath products.
▪ superstore British English a very large shop, especially one that is built outside the centre of a city: Out -of-town superstores have taken business away from shops in the city centre.
▪ department store a very large shop that is divided into several big parts, each of which sells one type of thing, such as clothes, furniture, or kitchen equipment: He went around all the big department stores in Oxford Street.
▪ supermarket (also grocery store American English) a very large shop that sells food, drinks, and things that people need regularly in their homes: Supermarkets have cut down the number of plastic bags they distribute by 50%.
▪ salon a shop where you can get your hair washed, cut curled etc
▪ garden centre British English, nursery especially American English a place that sells a wide range of plants, seeds, and things for your garden: Your local garden centre can advise you on which plants to grow.
▪ outlet formal a shop that sells things for less than the usual price, especially things from a particular company or things of a particular type: The book is available from most retail outlets.
▪ market an area, usually outdoors, where people buy and sell many different types of things: I usually buy our vegetables at the market – they're much cheaper there.
▪ mall especially American English a large area where there are a lot of shops, especially a large building: A new restaurant has opened at the mall. | We used to hang around together at the mall.
▪ strip mall American English a row of shops built together, with a large area for parking cars in front of it: Strip malls can seem rather impersonal.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
shop
shop [shop shops shopped shopping] noun, verb [ʃɒp] [ʃɑːp]
noun
WHERE YOU BUY STH
1. countable (especially BrE) a building or part of a building where you can buy goods or services
• a shoe shop
• There's a little gift shop around the corner.
• (BrE) a butcher's shop
• (NAmE) a butcher shop
• (BrE) I'm just going down to the shops. Can I get you anything?
see also bakeshop, bucket shop, coffee shop, corner shop, factory shop
FOR MAKING/REPAIRING THINGS
2. (also work·shop) countable (especially in compounds) a place where things are made or repaired, especially part of a factory where a particular type of work is done
• a repair shop
• a paint shop (= where cars are painted)
see also body shop
SHOPPING
3. singular (BrE, informal) an act of going shopping, especially for food and other items needed in the house
• I do a weekly shop at the supermarket.
SCHOOL SUBJECT
4. (also ˈshop class) uncountable (both NAmE) = industrial arts
ROOM FOR TOOLS
5. (also work·shop) countable (NAmE) a room in a house where tools are kept for making repairs to the house, building things out of wood, etc.
more at a bull in a china shop at bull, hit the shops/stores at hit v., mind the shop at mind v., shut up shop at shut v., talk shop at talk v.
Word Origin:
Middle English: shortening of Old French eschoppe ‘lean-to booth’, of West Germanic origin; related to German Schopf ‘porch’ and English dialect shippon ‘cattle shed’. The verb is first recorded (mid 16th cent.) in the sense ‘imprison’ (from an obsolete slang use of the noun for ‘prison’), which led to sense 3.
Thesaurus:
shop noun C (especially BrE)
• a pet/gift/flower shop
store • • supermarket • • boutique • • salon • |AmE grocery store • |business outlet •
an expensive/exclusive shop/store/boutique/salon
a specialist shop/store/outlet/boutique
a shop/store/supermarket/boutique/salon/grocery store/outlet sells/offers sth
own/have a shop/store/salon/supermarket/boutique/grocery store/outlet
Shop or store? In British English shop is the usual word; it is only used in American English about small, specialist shops. In American English store is the usual word; it is only used in British English about large shops, especially in business English, journalism and advertising.
Collocations:
Shopping
Shopping
go/go out/be out shopping
go to (especially BrE) the shops/(especially NAmE) a store/(especially NAmE) the mall
do (BrE) the shopping/(especially NAmE) the grocery shopping/a bit of window-shopping
(NAmE, informal) hit/hang out at the mall
try on clothes/shoes
indulge in some retail therapy
go on a spending spree
cut/cut back on/reduce your spending
be/get caught shoplifting
donate sth to/take sth to/find sth in (BrE) a charity shop/(NAmE) a thrift store
buy/sell/find sth at (BrE) a car boot sale/(BrE) a jumble sale/a garage sale/(NAmE) a yard sale
find/get/pick up a bargain
At the shop/store
load/push/wheel (BrE) a trolley/(NAmE) a cart
stand in/wait in (BrE) the checkout queue/(NAmE) the checkout line
(NAmE) stand in line/ (BrE) queue at the checkout
bag (especially NAmE) (your) groceries
pack (away) (especially BrE) your shopping
stack/stock/restock the shelves at a store (with sth)
be (found) on/appear on supermarket/shop/store shelves
be in/have in/be out of/run out of stock
deal with/help/serve customers
run a special promotion
be on special offer
Buying goods
make/complete a purchase
buy/purchase sth online/by mail order
make/place/take an order for sth
buy/order sth in bulk/in advance
accept/take credit cards
pay (in) cash/by (credit/debit) card/(BrE) with a gift voucher/(NAmE) with a gift certificate
enter your PIN number
ask for/get/obtain a receipt
return/exchange an item/a product
be entitled to/ask for/demand a refund
compare prices
offer (sb)/give (sb)/get/receive a 30% discount
Example Bank:
• I gave all my old books to a charity shop.
• I went around all the shops but I couldn't find a present for him.
• Mobile shops are invaluable to people in rural areas.
• She bought 400 cigarettes at the airport duty-free shop.
• She opened a flower shop in the High Street.
• She works part-time in a shop.
• Some buskers had set up shop outside the station.
• The brothers opened a chain of electrical shops in the eighties.
• The post office is at the end of the row of shops.
• The shop offers a large selection of leather goods at reasonable prices.
• There was was a break-in at that new shop last night.
• This is your one-stop shop for all your holiday needs.
• a famous shoe shop chain
• an area where many artists have set up shop
• The local corner shop stays open until midnight.
• There's a little gift shop around the corner.
• Your local pet shop should stock a variety of different collars.
• a pet/gift shop
Idioms: all over the shop ▪ set up shop
Derived: shop around
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
shop / ʃɒp / / ʃɑːp / noun [ C ] (PLACE TO BUY THINGS)
A1 ( US usually store ) a building, or a room in a building, where you can buy goods or get services:
a book/clothes/record/sweet shop
a barber's/betting shop
I need to go to the shops - I've got no food in the house.
UK the act of shopping, especially of shopping for food and other things needed in the house:
I usually do the weekly shop on a Monday.
be in the shops to be available to buy:
His latest novel will be in the shops by Christmas.
Word partners for shop noun
have / open / run / work in a shop • go to the shops • a local shop
shop / ʃɒp / / ʃɑːp / noun [ C ] (WORK AREA)
a place where a particular type of thing is made or repaired:
He runs an auto-tyre repair shop.
Word partners for shop noun
have / open / run / work in a shop • go to the shops • a local shop
shop / ʃɒp / / ʃɑːp / noun [ C ] informal (BUSINESS)
a business
Word partners for shop noun
have / open / run / work in a shop • go to the shops • a local shop
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
shop
/ʃɒp/
(shops, shopping, shopped)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A shop is a building or part of a building where things are sold. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use store)
...health food shops.
...a record shop...
It’s not available in the shops.
= store
N-COUNT
2.
When you shop, you go to shops and buy things.
He always shopped at the Co-op.
...some advice that’s worth bearing in mind when shopping for a new carpet.
...customers who shop once a week.
VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv, V
• shop‧per (shoppers)
...crowds of Christmas shoppers.
N-COUNT
3.
You can refer to a place where a particular service is offered as a particular type of shop.
...the barber shop where Rodney sometimes had his hair cut.
...your local video shop.
N-COUNT: n N
4.
If you shop someone, you report them to the police for doing something illegal. (BRIT INFORMAL)
His father was so disgusted to discover his son was dealing drugs he shopped him to police...
Fraudsters are often shopped by honest friends and neighbours.
VERB: V n to n, be V-ed
5.
see also shopping, chip shop, coffee shop, corner shop, paper shop, pawn shop, print shop, sex shop, tea shop, talking shop, thrift shop
6.
If something is happening all over the shop, it is happening in many different places or throughout a wide area. (BRIT INFORMAL)
This gave them the freedom to make trouble all over the shop without fear of retribution.
PHRASE: PHR after v
7.
If you set up shop, you start a business.
He set up shop as an independent PR consultant...
PHRASE: V inflects
8.
If you say that people are talking shop, you mean that they are talking about their work, and this is boring for other people who do not do the same work.
If you hang around with colleagues all the time you just end up talking shop.
PHRASE: V inflects
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1shop /ˈʃɑːp/ noun, pl shops
1 [count]
a : a building or room where goods and services are sold - see also barbershop, bookshop, coffee shop, pawnshop, pro shop, specialty shop, thrift shop
usage In U.S. English, store is more common than shop. When shop is used, it is usually for particular types of small businesses that sell one kind of product or service. Store is used for both small and large businesses, especially ones that sell many kinds of goods and services. In British English store is only used for large businesses that sell many kinds of goods and services and for a few types of smaller business that sell equipment.
• (US + Brit) a gift/sandwich/doughnut/flower shop
• (US + Brit) an antique shop [=(US) store]
• (US + Brit) a pet/card shop [=(US, more commonly) store]
• (Brit) a computer shop [=(US + Brit) store]
• (Brit) a hardware shop [=(US + Brit) store]
• (Brit) The shops [=(US) stores] are always crowded around the holiday season.
• (Brit) I'm going to the shops this afternoon. [=(US) I'm going shopping this afternoon; I'm going to stores to look at and buy things]
b : the place where a specified kind of worker works : a worker's place of business
• (US) the butcher shop = (Brit) the butcher's shop
• (Brit) a chemist's shop [=(US) drugstore]
2 [count] : a place for making or repairing goods, machinery, vehicles, etc.
• a repair shop
• I took the car to the shop to get new brakes.
- see also body shop, machine shop, sweatshop, workshop
3 [noncount] US : a class in school in which students are taught to work with tools and machinery
• I am taking shop this semester.
• I made a table in shop. also; [count] : a room in which a shop class is taught
• The wood/metal shop is down the hall.
4 [noncount] informal : talk that is related to or about your work or special interests : shoptalk
• They are always talking shop.
5 [singular] Brit informal : the activity of shopping for food or other things that are needed regularly
• I did my weekly shop. [=(US) (grocery/food) shopping]
a bull in a china shop
- see 1bull
all over the shop Brit : all over the place : everywhere
close up shop
- see 1close
mind the shop
- see 2mind
set up shop : to start a business or activity in a particular place
• The restaurant set up shop three blocks from here.
• He moved to France, where he set up shop as a writer.
• I set up shop in the living room and made phone calls all afternoon.