mom-and-pop

adjective

ˈmäm-ən(d)-ˈpäp 

1

: being or relating to a small owner-operated business

a mom-and-pop grocery

2

: small-scale

Examples of mom-and-pop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Business groups often point to a healthy road system being necessary for the flow of commerce, from imports at the Port of San Diego heading out across the U.S. to roads leading to mom-and-pop restaurants. —Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2025

Also, mom-and-pop retail, or services can scale to businesses making million-dollar profits. —Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

Monday’s inflows may surprise some market observers, as conventional wisdom would suggest mom-and-pop traders would be uneasy with the longtime company leader stepping away. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 6 May 2025

Rediscovering a Ukrainian identity Ukraine’s heightened sense of unity is on display in cities and villages, in restaurants, gas stations, and mom-and-pop shops, with the ubiquitous flying of the Ukrainian flag. —Howard Lafranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for mom-and-pop

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