closed shop

noun

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Definition of closed shop

1 : an establishment in which the employer by agreement hires only union members in good standing

2 : an exclusive group or establishment

Recent Examples of closed shop from the Web

About 45 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, Long Grove has in recent years fallen on tougher times, with many vendors retiring or closing shop and lots of empty storefronts.

— robert mccoppin, chicagotribune.com, "Village seeks to save 112-year-old bridge after truck severely damaged structure: 'This is the face of Long Grove'," 29 June 2018
The very day Lucas closed shop in Chicago, Garcetti e-mailed to cash in on his five percent.

— chanan tigay, GQ, "Eric Garcetti Is the Anti-Trump, Pro–Star Wars Man We Need," 12 June 2018
The Open Society Foundations decided to close shop in Budapest, the birth place of George Soros, its founder, and move its Hungarian operations to Berlin.

— The Economist, "Politics this week," 17 May 2018
NAPA Auto Parts pulled its team sponsorship and Michael Waltrip Racing closed shop within two years, leaving Bowyer stuck driving for low-budget HScott Motorsports in 2016 and having virtually no chance to collect another win.

— tod palmer, kansascity, "Emporia's Clint Bowyer invigorated and ready to roll at Kansas Speedway | The Kansas City Star," 10 May 2018
This dry cleaning and alteration business closed shop at the end of February after 10 years.

— annie zak, Anchorage Daily News, "Open & Shut: A new bike shop in an old fire station, and Paris Cafe relocates," 7 Apr. 2018
So here is the situation for the snow addicts: Bryce and Liberty will be closing shop after the last chair on Saturday afternoon.

— john hopewell, Washington Post, "Miracles do happen: Some Mid-Atlantic ski resorts are still open Easter weekend," 30 Mar. 2018
The error gave cooperatives — including farming giants like Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. — the major advantage and put smaller privately owned agricultural businesses at risk of closing shop.

— tara golshan, Vox, "4 winners and 4 losers from Congress’s massive $1.3 trillion spending package," 23 Mar. 2018
People close to the store and its attendant theater immediately took to social media to mourn the loss: .@MeltdownComics is closing shop in 10 days.

— gwynedd stuart, Los Angeles Magazine, "Meltdown Comics and Nerdmelt Showroom Are Closing," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'closed shop.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of closed shop

1903

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Law Dictionary

closed shop

noun

legal Definition of closed shop

: a business in which the employer by agreement hires and retains only union members — see also Labor Management Relations Act — compare open shop, union shop

Note: Closed shops are illegal under the Labor Management Relations Act.