mall

noun \ ˈmȯl , especially British and for sense 1 ˈmal \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Definition of mall

1 : an alley used for pall-mall

[The Mall, promenade in London, originally a pall-mall alley]

a : a usually public area often set with shade trees and designed as a promenade or as a pedestrian walk

b : a usually paved or grassy strip between two roadways

3 a : an urban shopping area featuring a variety of shops surrounding a usually open-air concourse reserved for pedestrian traffic

b : a usually large suburban building or group of buildings containing various shops with associated passageways

See mall defined for English-language learners

See mall defined for kids

Examples of mall in a Sentence

They spent the afternoon shopping at the mall.
the pedestrian traffic through the grassy mall is heaviest during the summer lunch hours

Recent Examples of mall from the Web

Monument Avenue, the city's most iconic site, is a mall devoted to Confederate generals.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "The Bachelorette Wants To Have Its Cake & Be Political, Too," 3 July 2018
The suburb of Edina—arguably the birthplace of modern suburbia as the home of America’s first enclosed shopping mall—witnessed heated debate over plans for a high-rise apartment building near the mall.

— jay walljasper, WIRED, "The Bitter Battle to Turn an Old Factory Into a 21st Century 'Eco-Village'," 3 July 2018
In 2015, Gershman Partners, which was also involved in the Sportsplex venture, announced plans for a $90 million mall on the same site.

— holly v. hays, Indianapolis Star, "Plans for $40M Greenwood Sportsplex won't move forward, mayor says," 3 July 2018
The first to open, in the fall, will be Blanco Tacos + Tequila, a modern Mexican restaurant, that will occupy a newly created, stand-alone building at the Fashion Valley mall.

— michele parente, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Fox Restaurant Concepts to add 4 new places in San Diego, 2 at Fashion Valley," 30 June 2018
Over coffee at a local mall, Avelar told me about founding Comcavis Trans in 2008.

— alice driver, Longreads, "The Road to Asylum," 30 June 2018
This isn’t the first time Riverdale has made its way to your local mall.

— mekita rivas, Teen Vogue, "Torrid Launches Size-Inclusive Riverdale Merch," 29 June 2018
Ramos, 14, was first reported missing in the days after her last sighting at the mall with Stine, 15, who was officially reported missing earlier this week by family.

— craig hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "Police still searching for two teen girls missing from The Woodlands," 29 June 2018
Kobalt first opened its doors in 2006 at the midcentury mall and remains one of the few tenants staying there as the property goes into renovations.

— garrett mitchell, azcentral, "Kobalt nightclub closes Saturday; new Park Central Mall location opens soon," 29 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of mall

short for obsolete pall-mall mallet used in pall-mall

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1660

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

mall Synonyms

Synonyms

boardwalk, promenade, walk;

Related Words

walkway;

arcade, colonnade, galleria, gallery;

plaza;

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

MALL Defined for English Language Learners

mall

noun

Definition of mall for English Language Learners

: a large building or group of buildings containing stores of many different kinds and sizes
: a public area where people walk

MALL Defined for Kids

mall

noun \ ˈmȯl \

Definition of mall for Students

1 : a large building or group of buildings containing a variety of shops

2 : a public area for pedestrians

History for mall

In Italy in the 1500s a popular game similar to croquet was known as pallamaglio, from palla, “ball,” and maglio, “mallet.” The game (and word) was adopted by the French as pallemalle and in the 1600s by the English as pall-mall. The alley on which the game was played came to be known as a mall. One of the best known of these alleys, covered with sand and crushed shells, was located in London's St. James Park and was known as “The Mall.” After the game lost favor, the Mall at St. James, as it continued to be called, was turned into a fashionable walkway with trees and flowers. Similar open-air places came to be called malls also. In the 20th century the word was applied to other public spaces, including the shopping complexes we now know as malls.