retail

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

|Updated on: 14 Aug 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

One carat retails for $800 without a setting, and pricing is linear rather than the exponential increases favored by natural-stone jewelers.

— annabelle williams, Philly.com, "What do lab-grown diamonds mean for Jewelers Row?," 7 July 2018
Maxwell, an American designer and stylist, is known for dressing celebrities like Lady Gaga and Blake Lively, and the sleeveless sheath originally retails for $1,495.

— megan friedman, Town & Country, "Why Meghan Markle’s Brandon Maxwell Dress Is a Major Break From Her Style Norms," 5 July 2018
Hadid's exact swimsuit retails for $170 and is still available to shop (yesss!).

— marina liao, Marie Claire, "Gigi Hadid Wore a Sexy One-Piece Swimsuit for a Yacht Party in Greece," 2 July 2018
The collaboration retails for $325-$925 and is exclusively sold at the Weekend Max Mara boutique at South Coast Plaza and on weekendmaxmara.com.

— lindzi scharf, latimes.com, "Want your summer wardrobe to stand out? Try these four artist-and-fashion collaborations on for size," 21 June 2018
LeBron’s wardrobe gift to each of his teammates, ESPN says, retails for $17,120 apiece.

— ellen warren, chicagotribune.com, "Still puzzled by the shrunken men's suit?," 20 June 2018
This retails for less than you most likely paid for lunch: $8.

— kathleen hou, The Cut, "The Ordinary Is Still Making New Products," 13 June 2018
The least expensive of those cars, the Audi R8, retails for just shy of $140,000.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Want to drive a Maserati? This Louisville company can hook you up," 8 June 2018
Each gloss retails for $17, aka the price of a very, very fancy cake.

— zoe weiner, Allure, "M.A.C. Launches "Oh, Sweetie" Flavored Lip Gloss Collection With Caroline Daur," 17 May 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

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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

Get our daily newsletter This is the operating platform that has turned Ocado, founded in 2000, into one of the giants of contemporary retail.

— The Economist, "Ocado, the tech startup you thought was a supermarket," 24 May 2018
Mouta is aiming for a mix of other retail on the second floor — possibly a coffee shop, a wine bar or distillery, and booths selling flowers, stationery and jewelry.

— jenna carlesso, Courant Community, "Developer Plans Elaborate Food Market For Hartford's Parkville Neighborhood," 23 May 2018
Mary Prekop, director of retail for Long Grove Confectionery Co., said she was approached as soon as the festival opened by two customers who wanted to know if the scavenger hunt hosted by Prekop’s company had been canceled.

— lindsey salvatelli, Lake County News-Sun, "Chocolate the focus of Long Grove festival," 20 May 2018
That’s a bold way of thinking, especially in today’s belt-tightening retail landscape, but Hermès is the exception to just about every rule of retail.

— max berlinger, GQ, "You Could Use a Style Upgrade," 18 Apr. 2018
Analysts say the shift has contributed to the decline of traditional retail.

— lorraine mirabella, baltimoresun.com, "Fast fashion fuels sustainable-apparel movement," 11 July 2018
The merger took an old model of cruise line retail and put it on steroids by placing the marketers, art auctioneers, duty-free shops and port retailers all into the same hands.

— david smiley, joey flechas and danny rivero, miamiherald, "Hustle and Flow: How Philip Levine made the money that’s financing his bid for governor," 10 July 2018
The prospective leases total 43,000 square feet and would fill a large chunk of the center’s 100,000 square feet of retail.

— roland li, SFChronicle.com, "Philz Coffee, gym could open in new SF transit center," 9 July 2018
The first floor of the building has 2,600 square feet of retail, which will soon be filled with a coffee shop and café.

— michelle beaver, azcentral, "Couple embraces Main Street living in custom downtown Scottsdale condo," 5 July 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

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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

The Hogan Companies also partnered with the Peterson Companies — the developer of National Harbor in Prince George’s County — as a broker on the land where the James Run mixed-use office and retail development is planned in Harford County.

— luke broadwater, baltimoresun.com, "As governor, Larry Hogan's real estate business continues to thrive — prompting questions," 13 July 2018
Closing the business opens Barto's schedule for committing extra time to a new retail line of gluten-free foods, which were developed thanks in part to experiences at the restaurant.

— ethan may, Indianapolis Star, "Hops & Fire Craft Tap House has closed its doors," 13 July 2018
After a stint in New Jersey — where Salur’s mother is from — the newlyweds headed west to San Francisco, living in a tiny in-law apartment in the avenues while working in restaurants and retail shops and going to school.

— maggie hoffman, SFChronicle.com, "Finding love at Orson’s Belly in the Richmond," 12 July 2018
The retail chain has four locations in metro Phoenix: Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale, Chandler Fashion Center, Scottsdale Fashion Square and SanTan Village in Gilbert.

— jessica suriano, azcentral, "Build-A-Bear halts 'Pay Your Age' sale as hundreds in metro Phoenix wait in line," 12 July 2018
Naperville City Council members Tuesday will consider annexing land on Route 59 in south Naperville for a retail project that could trigger more commercial development in an area that’s now mostly residential.

— erin hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Naperville to consider annexing Route 59 church to make way for commerical development," 12 July 2018
Now the largest single-level Louis Vuitton retail floor in the Americas, the Costa Mesa space is the brainchild of architect Peter Marino, who combined a modern Southern California aesthetic with the brand’s historic French roots.

— candice baker yacono, latimes.com, "Louis Vuitton South Coast Plaza reopens with store-exclusive merchandise," 12 July 2018
The retail/wholesale event finds more than 50 juried vendors selling lampworked, vintage, glass, globe, gemstones, ceramic and pearls, as well as charms, pendants and supplies to tie it all together.

— courtney devores, charlotteobserver, "Your 5-minute guide to the best things to do in Charlotte | July 13-19," 11 July 2018
There’s a stat that’s like 10X more retail branches since the moment that the ATM was invented.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Box CEO Aaron Levie on Recode Decode," 11 July 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

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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

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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

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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

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