often attributive
1
: a handicraft establishment : atelier
2
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
shopped; shopping
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
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
Synonyms
Examples of shop in a Sentence
Noun
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.
Verb
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 on the Web
Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Articles in Common is a one-stop shop for outdoor enthusiasts, and it’s divided into a few sections.
—Michael Charboneau, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
On the contrary, dispensaries often mark up cannabis accessory products by a staggering 300%, while neighboring smoke shops do not, resulting in lost opportunities for smoke shops to capture.
—Harrison Bard, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
No Maryland law keeps these teens away from the Tempranillo, because at this shop, none of the drinks contain alcohol.
—Haley Weiss, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
The arrival of a new season means only one thing: There’s a massive H&M sale to shop right now.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 9 Apr. 2024
The couple manned their shop selling traditional blouses, deer eye necklaces and other artisanal goods on the procession grounds.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 2024
The shop has been closed since Tuesday out of fear of harassment from law enforcement, Basulto said.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
The owner of popular Sacramento gift store Strapping is opening a new ice cream shop.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 29 Mar. 2024
Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
Music lovers can also shop the scenes of the Searchlight Pictures film.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Founder Dave Gold was a SoCal business iconoclast on the level of In-N-Out founder Harry Snyder and cafeteria magnate Clifford Clifton, who made sure that the least among us could eat and shop like kings.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The Dali mariners’ urgent request: Could someone take them shopping?
—William Wan, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
Our customers love the personalized experience of shopping in a place where everyone knows their name and reading tastes!
—USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Read on to shop the rest of the top picks from the Amazon sale.
—Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024
While Women’s History Month is the perfect time to shop from them, ESSENCE is dedicated to diligently supporting our own including stores like YOWIE and Sincerely Tommy.
—Essence, 29 Mar. 2024
Here are some general tips on how to stretch your dollar when shopping for your family.
—Sherri Gordon, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024
Noun
No injuries were reported Wednesday, but the storm damaged a strip mall and a neighboring car repair shop, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jeffry Evans.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Articles in Common is a one-stop shop for outdoor enthusiasts, and it’s divided into a few sections.
—Michael Charboneau, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
On the contrary, dispensaries often mark up cannabis accessory products by a staggering 300%, while neighboring smoke shops do not, resulting in lost opportunities for smoke shops to capture.
—Harrison Bard, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
No Maryland law keeps these teens away from the Tempranillo, because at this shop, none of the drinks contain alcohol.
—Haley Weiss, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
The arrival of a new season means only one thing: There’s a massive H&M sale to shop right now.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 9 Apr. 2024
The couple manned their shop selling traditional blouses, deer eye necklaces and other artisanal goods on the procession grounds.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 2024
The shop has been closed since Tuesday out of fear of harassment from law enforcement, Basulto said.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
The owner of popular Sacramento gift store Strapping is opening a new ice cream shop.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
Keep reading to shop them before the savings expire.
—Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
Music lovers can also shop the scenes of the Searchlight Pictures film.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Founder Dave Gold was a SoCal business iconoclast on the level of In-N-Out founder Harry Snyder and cafeteria magnate Clifford Clifton, who made sure that the least among us could eat and shop like kings.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The Dali mariners’ urgent request: Could someone take them shopping?
—William Wan, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
Our customers love the personalized experience of shopping in a place where everyone knows their name and reading tastes!
—USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Read on to shop the rest of the top picks from the Amazon sale.
—Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024
While Women’s History Month is the perfect time to shop from them, ESSENCE is dedicated to diligently supporting our own including stores like YOWIE and Sincerely Tommy.
—Essence, 29 Mar. 2024
Here are some general tips on how to stretch your dollar when shopping for your family.
—Sherri Gordon, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English shoppe, from Old English sceoppa booth; akin to Old High German scopf shed
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1806, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2
Time Traveler
The first known use of shop was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing shop
Dictionary Entries Near shop
Cite this Entry
“Shop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shop. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
shop
1 of 2 noun1
: a place of business : office
2
a
: a building or room where goods are sold retail
b
also shoppe
: a small store offering a specialized line of goods
a gift shop
3
: a place where workers are doing a particular kind of work especially with machinery
a print shop
4
a
: a school laboratory equipped for industrial arts education
b
: industrial arts
take shop as a freshman
metal shop
5
: shoptalk
talk shop
shop
2 of 2 verb
shopped; shopping
1
: to visit shops for the purpose of looking over and buying goods
2
: to look for the best buy
shop around for a new car
shopper
noun
Legal Definition
shop
noun
: a business establishment : a place of employment see also closed shop, open shop, union shop
More from Merriam-Webster on shop
Nglish: Translation of shop for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of shop for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shop
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share