shop

noun, often attributive \ ˈshäp \

|Updated on: 11 Aug 2018

Definition of shop

1 : a handicraft establishment : atelier

2 a : a building or room stocked with merchandise for sale : store

b or less commonly shoppe play \ˈshäp\ : a small retail establishment or a department in a large one offering a specified line of goods or services

a millinery shop

a sandwich shop

3 : a commercial establishment for the making or repair of goods or machinery

machine shop

repair shop

4 a : a school laboratory equipped for industrial arts education

b : the art or science of working with tools and machinery

5 a : a business establishment : office

a public relations shop

b : shoptalk

talking shop

See shop defined for English-language learners

See shop defined for kids

Examples of shop in a Sentence

I took the car to the shop to get new brakes.
I am taking shop this semester.
I made a table in shop.
The wood shop is down the hall.

Recent Examples of shop from the Web

There’s no evidence that the two artists ever met, but Ugo would have been nothing without Da Vinci — just another minor aristocrat’s kid, buying and selling rural real estate in the Po Valley before opening a printer’s shop in the big city.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "Out of the shadows and into the light: 'Chiaroscuro Woodcut' is a sleeper hit at LACMA," 5 July 2018
Ferragamo opened a shoe repair shop with his brothers and collaborated with the most famous names in cinema, including Raoul Walsh, James Cruze, and Cecil B. DeMille.

— aerin reed, Town & Country, "A New Exhibit at the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence Highlights the Designer's Life in Hollywood," 5 July 2018
In the ’90s sitcom, Benes obsessed over just the tops of the muffins, and even went so far as to open a shop called Top of the Muffin to You!

— madison roberts, PEOPLE.com, "McDonald's Takes a Cue from Seinfeld and Will Start Serving Muffin Tops," 27 June 2018
This month owners Lee and Patrick Padgett opened a new shop in Chicago.

— allie gross, Detroit Free Press, "Busted Bra Shop founder helps women find right fit in Detroit, Chicago," 26 June 2018
Kim has opened a pop-up shop for her make-up line, KKW.

— morgan baila, refinery29.com, "Is It Just Me, Or Are The Kardashians Really Quiet Right Now?," 25 June 2018
The two hope to eventually open a stand-alone shop and leave their day jobs.

— montana couser, The Root, "Meet the 1st Black Brewers of Georgia," 25 June 2018
Sean McDermott and his son, Corey, will be opening the first medical marijuana shop in La Mesa in just a few weeks.

— karen pearlman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Medical marijuana dispensary in L.G., first in city, gets OK," 22 June 2018
Tampa-area eatery The Donut Experiment is planning to open a new shop south of downtown Orlando.

— kyle arnold, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Create-your-own company The Donut Experiment plans Orlando shop," 19 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of shop

Middle English shoppe, from Old English sceoppa booth; akin to Old High German scopf shed

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

shop Synonyms

Synonyms

argot, cant, dialect, jargon, jive, language, lingo, patois, patter, shoptalk, slang, terminology, vocabulary;

journalese;

shop

verb

Definition of shop

shopped; shopping

intransitive verb

1 a : to examine goods or services with intent to buy

b : to hunt through a market in search of the best buy

2 : to make a search : hunt

shopping around for a better idea

transitive verb

1 British : to inform on : betray

2 : to examine the stock or offerings of

shop the stores for Christmas gift ideas

3 : to offer for consideration or acceptance; especially : to offer for sale or in a trade —often used with around

shopping the manuscript around

See shop defined for English-language learners

Examples of shop in a Sentence

Where do you like to shop?
I like to shop at locally owned stores.
She is shopping for a new car.
Many people now shop online.
She's shopping her idea for a film.
His own mother shopped him to the police.

Recent Examples of shop from the Web

Still, the results of Mudfest are a great place to start when shopping for an S.U.V. or a crossover.

— tom voelk, New York Times, "26 Vehicles Played in the Mud. Here’s the Dirt.," 12 July 2018
The consumer segment, Ms. Kitagawa said, remains challenged as smartphones continue to gain ground in daily tasks from shopping to using social media.

— maria armental, WSJ, "PC Shipments Have Strongest Quarter in Six Years," 12 July 2018
Even before thinking about shopping for that new school backpack for next year, parents need to make sure their children are up to date on vaccinations.

— arlinda smith broady, ajc, "Four questions about back-to-school vaccinations," 10 July 2018
Russell took the men shopping for button-down shirts.

— deirdre fernandes, BostonGlobe.com, "An education in hope," 7 July 2018
Many Kenyans shop for secondhand clothes from the market, which also supplies other vendors with used clothes from Europe and the United States.

— Fox News, "Fire sweeps through market in Kenya's capital, killing 15," 28 June 2018
Also shop for garden art and there will be a plant exchange at the Michigan Transit Museum.

— brendel hightower, Detroit Free Press, "Things to do in metro Detroit for the week of June 24 and beyond," 26 June 2018
But there are some ways patients can save money, like shopping around and talking to their doctor.

— aubrey nagle, Philly.com, "Protesters rally in Rittenhouse Square, Senior Week puts the 'wild' in Wildwood | Morning Newsletter," 20 June 2018
Online dating already has me thinking of mating as something like shopping.

— allison p. davis, The Cut, "Are We Ready for Robot Sex?," 13 May 2018

First Known Use of shop

1806

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

SHOP Defined for English Language Learners

shop

noun

Definition of shop for English Language Learners

: a building or room where goods and services are sold
: the place where a specified kind of worker works : a worker's place of business
: a place for making or repairing goods, machinery, vehicles, etc.

shop

verb

Definition of shop for English Language Learners

: to visit places where goods are sold in order to look at and buy things
: to try to get a company to publish or produce (something)
: to give information about the secret or criminal activity of (someone) to an authority (such as the police)