retail

verb re·tail \ ˈrē-ˌtāl , especially for sense 2 also ri-ˈtāl \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Examples: retail in a Sentence

Definition of retail

retailed; retailing; retails

transitive verb

1 : to sell in small quantities directly to the ultimate consumer

2 : tell, retell

intransitive verb

: to sell at retail

—

retailer

noun

See retail defined for English-language learners

See retail defined for kids

Examples of retail in a Sentence

We retail clothing at the best possible prices.
jewelry that retails from 0

Recent Examples of retail from the Web

Old Navy's annual $1 flip-flop sale is the stuff of retail legend: For one day—and one day only—the brand cuts the price on its classic, solid-colored rubber sandals, which normally retail for $3.94, to a single George Washington.

— ana colon, Glamour, "Alert: Old Navy's Legendary $1 Flip-Flop Sale Is No Longer Online," 11 June 2018
That’s the lowest price yet for this SSD, which retails for $300.

— ian paul, PCWorld, "The massive 1TB Samsung 860 EVO, our favorite SSD, is on sale for $248—over $50 off," 8 June 2018
The Trek bike with a Bosch motor retails for $2,400, Buchtel said.

— ted slowik, Daily Southtown, "Slowik: Electric bikes poised to make inroads in the Southland," 30 May 2018
The luxury brand previously came out with a bag that resembled IKEA’s Frakta bag, which retails for less than dollar, and a Crocs collaboration.

— lisa marie segarra, Fortune, "Balenciaga Is Selling These Crazy Double Shirts for More Than $1,000," 29 May 2018
On Monday, Khloé gave fans a first peek inside her daughter's nursery, sharing new photos of the pristine all-pink bedroom, featuring an Hermès throw blanket, along with a super swanky crib—which retails for a steep $4,500.

— megan decker, Harper's BAZAAR, "Khloé Kardashian Just Showed Off True's Baby Nursery—And It Includes a $4,500 Crib," 22 May 2018
Holmes kept things simple in a strapless JD Williams jumpsuit, which retails for under $85 and is an easy spring-to-summer staple.

— edward barsamian, Vogue, "Katie Holmes Finds the Perfect Summer Jumpsuit for Under $85," 17 May 2018
In a tweet, the company said the console, which retails for $59.99, would be available in U.S. stores on June 29.

— chris ciaccia, Fox News, "Nintendo brings back NES Classic, social media goes nuts," 14 May 2018
The Nocturnal Balcony Bra retails for $104 and the matching Nocturnal Thong for $89; both are available for order on farfetch.com.

— jen juneau, PEOPLE.com, "We Found It: Pregnant Khloé Kardashian's Sexy Black Lingerie from Her Maternity Photo Shoot," 27 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of retail

15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

retail Synonyms

retail

noun re·tail \ ˈrē-ˌtāl \

Definition of retail

: the sale of commodities or goods in small quantities to ultimate consumers; also : the industry of such selling

— at retail

1 : at a retailer's price

2 : ⁴retail

See retail defined for English-language learners

Examples of retail in a Sentence

She has a job in retail.

Recent Examples of retail from the Web

She had been charged in 2013 with misdemeanor retail theft.

— clifford ward, Aurora Beacon-News, "Former Aurora alderman pleads guilty to stealing items from store," 13 June 2018
Ryan Vero, the chain's president of retail, says the retailer sells nearly one million gender reveal party items a year, including tableware, decorations and balloons.

— michaela n. vincent, CNN, "People are going way over the top with their gender-reveal parties these days," 8 June 2018
He was cited for retail theft, disorderly conduct, trespassing and resisting an officer.

— jane ford-stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Man believed to be drunk on vodka stolen from the West Allis store where he bothered customers," 5 June 2018
The city’s Millenia development includes 2 million square feet of office space and 1.5 million square feet of retail, parks and hotels.

— gustavo solis, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Chula Vista looks to shed bedroom community image," 30 May 2018
Most items usually end up selling for approximately 10 percent of retail.

— melissa rolland, courant.com, "Time To Tag Sale?," 29 May 2018
Ambrose already has outlined a $550 million project that includes apartments, offices, retail, a hotel and green space along the river.

— james briggs, Indianapolis Star, "How a little-known Indianapolis developer got in position to land Amazon's HQ2," 3 June 2018
The owner, Carr-Gottstein Properties, wants to convert it from a grocery space into a location for retail, plus changes to parking and landscaping.

— annie zak, Anchorage Daily News, "Work has started on a remodel at the Mall at Sears, but the owners aren’t saying who might move in," 1 June 2018
The projects include office, retail, hotel, health care, churches and other categories.

— katherine feser, Houston Chronicle, "Houston construction starts jump in April along with job growth," 31 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of retail

Middle English, from Anglo-French retaille cutting, deduction, retail, from retailler to cut out, from re- + tailler to cut — more at tailor

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Business Terms

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

retail

adjective re·tail \ ˈrē-ˌtāl \

Definition of retail

: of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of commodities at retail

retail trade

See retail defined for English-language learners

Examples of retail in a Sentence

Is that price retail or wholesale?

Recent Examples of retail from the Web

Amplify’s Christian Magoon sees a doubling of overall retail sales that occur online.

— gerrard cowan, WSJ, "Online-Sales ETF Could Be in a Sweet Spot," 3 June 2018
Earlier this week workers were moving around pallets bearing thousands of new beer cans, part of ongoing efforts to boost retail sales, said Dan Katt, one of Good City's co-founders.

— james b. nelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Good City Brewing to feature sour beers in taproom at Milwaukee Bucks entertainment block," 31 May 2018
Conversely, physical retail sales are continuing to decline.

— rani molla, Recode, "Mary Meeker’s 2018 internet trends report: All the slides, plus analysis," 30 May 2018
Also on the docket this week, Japan employment and retail sales, Hong Kong trade and Australian building permits, industrial output for South Korea and Thai trade figures.

— andreea papuc, Bloomberg.com, "Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day," 27 May 2018
Strong retail sales and high consumer confidence suggest that if a downturn is coming, Americans have missed the memo.

— The Economist, "World economic growth is slowing. Don’t worry—yet," 19 May 2018
As of March, Juul made up more than half of all e-cigarette retail market sales in the US, according to Nielsen data.

— julia belluz, Vox, "Juul, the vape device teens are getting hooked on, explained," 18 May 2018
Aronchick argued that the tax is levied at the point of transport and distribution of beverages, and that the retail sale does not trigger the tax.

— laura mccrystal, Philly.com, "Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments on Philly soda tax," 15 May 2018
The Census Bureau will report April’s retail sales on Tuesday.

— New York Times, "Seattle Votes on Large-Company Tax, and Talks in Taxing Chinese Goods," 13 May 2018

First Known Use of retail

1601

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

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

retail

adverb re·tail \ ˈrē-ˌtāl \

Definition of retail

: in small quantities : from a retailer

See retail defined for English-language learners

Examples of retail in a Sentence

You usually have to pay more if you buy something retail than if you buy it wholesale.
The product sells retail for about 0.

First Known Use of retail

1784

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

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

RETAIL Defined for English Language Learners

retail

verb

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

: to sell (something) to customers for their own use
: to be sold to the final customer for a specified price
: to tell (something) to one person after another : to tell (something) again

retail

noun

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

: the business of selling things directly to customers for their own use

retail

adjective

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

: relating to the business of selling things directly to customers for their own use

retail

adverb

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

: in a store that sells things directly to customers for their own use : from a retailer

RETAIL Defined for Kids

retail

verb re·tail \ ˈrē-ˌtāl \

Definition of retail for Students

retailed; retailing

: to sell in small amounts to people for their own use

—

retailer

noun

retail

noun

Definition of retail for Students

: the sale of products or goods in small amounts to people for their own use

retail

adjective

Definition of retail for Students

: relating to or engaged in selling products in small amounts to people for their own use

retail stores

Learn More about retail

See words that rhyme with retail Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for retail Spanish Central: Translation of retail Nglish: Translation of retail for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of retail for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up retail? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

retail

Definition of retail

retailer

Examples of retail in a Sentence

Recent Examples of retail from the Web

First Known Use of retail

retail Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

retail

Definition of retail

Examples of retail in a Sentence

Recent Examples of retail from the Web

Origin and Etymology of retail

Other Business Terms

retail

Definition of retail

Examples of retail in a Sentence

Recent Examples of retail from the Web

First Known Use of retail

Other Business Terms

retail

Definition of retail

Examples of retail in a Sentence

First Known Use of retail

Other Business Terms

Phrases Related to RETAIL

Related Phrases

RETAIL Defined for English Language Learners

retail

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

retail

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

retail

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

retail

Definition of retail for English Language Learners

RETAIL Defined for Kids

retail

Definition of retail for Students

retailer

retail

Definition of retail for Students

retail

Definition of retail for Students

Learn More about retail

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

If the Shoe Fits

On the Disruption of 'Disrupt'

Trending: 'Asylum' Trends as Policies Draw Attention

Name More Food!

Ghost Word