bookstore

noun

book·​store ˈbu̇k-ˌstȯr How to pronounce bookstore (audio)
: a place of business where books are the main item offered for sale

called also bookshop

Examples of bookstore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Historical-romance authors love the British peerage system so much that bookstore shelves groan with many, many more dukedoms than the two dozen or so that actually existed in the United Kingdom of the 19th century. Karen Ostergren, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2025 Children…who had previously not read for pleasure are standing in line at bookstores and libraries to get the next book in the series. JSTOR Daily, 12 Oct. 2025 Acclaimed Minnesota authors Sarah Stonich and William Kent Krueger are guest speakers at the first anniversary of Story Line Books bookstore and Stories at the Station reading series. Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 Oct. 2025 The bookstore continues to have a section called African American History, featuring such books as Henry Louis Gates’s collection of nineteenth-century slave narratives. Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bookstore

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bookstore was in 1760

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bookstore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bookstore. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

bookstore

noun
book·​store -ˌstō(ə)r How to pronounce bookstore (audio)
-ˌstȯ(ə)r
: a store that sells mainly books

More from Merriam-Webster on bookstore

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!