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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

shop.

An establishment that sells goods or services to the public; originally only a physical location, but now a virtual establishment as well.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ʃɒp/Received-Pronunciation/ʃɑp/General-American
  1. An establishment that sells goods or services to the public; originally only a physical location, but now a virtual establishment as well.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A place where things are manufactured or crafted; a workshop.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A large garage where vehicle mechanics work.

    countable · uncountable
    The car's in the shop right now.
  4. Workplace; office. Used mainly in expressions such as shop talk, closed shop and shop floor.

    countable · uncountable
  5. Discussion of business or professional affairs.

    figuratively · uncountable
  6. A variety of classes taught in junior or senior high school that teach vocational skills.

    countable · uncountable
  7. An establishment where a barber or beautician works.

    countable · uncountable
    a barber shop
  8. An act of shopping, especially routine shopping for food and other domestic supplies.

    countable · uncountable
    This is where I do my weekly shop.
  9. The collective items bought (or to be bought) on a shopping trip.

    UK · colloquial · countable · uncountable
    I’ve got a big shop, so feel free to go in front.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *skup- Old English scoppa Middle English schoppe English shop From Middle English shoppe, schoppe, from Old English sċoppa (“shed; booth; stall; shop”), from Proto-Germanic *skupp-, *skup- (“barn, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *skub-, *skup- (“to bend, bow, curve, vault”). Cognate with Dutch schop (“shed”), German Schuppen (“shed”), German Schober (“barn”), French échoppe (“booth, shop”) (< Germanic). The verb is denominal. The noun senses “act of shopping”, “purchased items” are backformed from the verb.

verb/ʃɒp/Received-Pronunciation/ʃɑp/General-American
  1. To visit stores or shops to browse or explore merchandise, especially with the intention of buying such merchandise.

    intransitive
    Why don’t you come shopping for gifts with me, early before the Christmas rush?
    He’s (gone) shopping for clothes.
  2. To browse or purchase products from (a catalog, an internet website, etc.), mostly from home.

    transitive
    Shop our new arrivals.
  3. To report the criminal activities or whereabouts of someone to an authority.

    UK · slang · transitive
    He shopped his mates in to the police.
  4. To imprison.

    UK · slang · transitive
  5. To photoshop; to digitally edit a picture or photograph.

    Internet · transitive
  6. To dismiss from employment.

    archaic · slang · transitive
  7. To investigate or evaluate as a mystery shopper.

    colloquial · transitive
  8. To pitch (a book, script, etc.) to a publisher or studio.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *skup- Old English scoppa Middle English schoppe English shop From Middle English shoppe, schoppe, from Old English sċoppa (“shed; booth; stall; shop”), from Proto-Germanic *skupp-, *skup- (“barn, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *skub-, *skup- (“to bend, bow, curve, vault”). Cognate with Dutch schop (“shed”), German Schuppen (“shed”), German Schober (“barn”), French échoppe (“booth, shop”) (< Germanic). The verb is denominal. The noun senses “act of shopping”, “purchased items” are backformed from the verb.

intj/ʃɒp/Received-Pronunciation/ʃɑp/General-American
  1. Used to attract the services of a shop assistant

    dated
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *skup- Old English scoppa Middle English schoppe English shop From Middle English shoppe, schoppe, from Old English sċoppa (“shed; booth; stall; shop”), from Proto-Germanic *skupp-, *skup- (“barn, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *skub-, *skup- (“to bend, bow, curve, vault”). Cognate with Dutch schop (“shed”), German Schuppen (“shed”), German Schober (“barn”), French échoppe (“booth, shop”) (< Germanic). The verb is denominal. The noun senses “act of shopping”, “purchased items” are backformed from the verb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.