open shop

noun

: an establishment in which eligibility for employment and retention on the payroll are not determined by membership or nonmembership in a labor union though there may be an agreement by which a union is recognized as sole bargaining agent

Examples of open shop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This new studio has open stitch nights and open shop days. —Cathy Kozlowicz, jsonline.com, 24 Feb. 2026

While Christmas isn't traditionally a holiday for many families in the neighborhood, Chinatown is very much alive with packed restaurants, open shops and visitors filling the streets. —Marissa Perlman, CBS News, 26 Dec. 2025

For now, life continues; children go to school, families open shops, and tourists come for nature and food. —Isa Cardona, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025

Shipley is on track to open an additional 40 shops by the end of 2025, and plans to open shops in New Mexico and Missouri. —Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for open shop

• barbershop
• countertop
• lollipop
• mountaintop
• overtop
• photoshop
• tabletop
• turboprop
• atop
• backdrop
• backstop
• bebop

Legal Definition

open shop

noun

: an establishment in which eligibility for employment and retention on the payroll are not determined by membership or nonmembership in a labor union though there may be an agreement by which a union is recognized as sole bargaining agent

called also merit shop

compare agency shop, closed shop, union shop