hypermarket

IPA/ˈhaɪpəmɑːkɪt/
KK[hˈaɪpɚmˌɑrkɪt]IPA/ˈhaɪpərmɑːrkɪt/

hypermarket — noun

  • hypermarketsingular
  • hypermarketsplural

1. A type of very large shop built on the edge of a town or city, where you can buy

1.nounB1
Definition

A type of very large shop built on the edge of a town or city, where you can buy food, clothes, furniture, and electrical items all in one place.

Example

Wei and his family go to the hypermarket every Saturday to buy groceries for the whole week.

collocation: go to the hypermarket

The new hypermarket outside town sells everything from vegetables and meat to bicycles and televisions.

sells everything from ... to ...

Common collocations
  • go to the hypermarket
  • shop at a hypermarket
  • hypermarket chain
  • outside-town hypermarket
Synonyms
  • superstore

    a large shop — a hypermarket has a full supermarket section, which a superstore may not

  • big-box store

    American English term for a large chain store in a warehouse-style building, e.g. Walmart or Target

Grammar Patterns

hypermarket + verb

at / to / from a hypermarket

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A hypermarket is the largest of these terms: it combines a full supermarket (groceries, fresh food) with a department store (clothes, electronics, furniture) under one roof. A supermarket sells mostly food and everyday household items and is usually much smaller. A superstore is a large shop that specialises in one type of product, such as DIY supplies or office equipment. A big-box store is the American English term for a large, warehouse-style chain store — Costco and Walmart are big-box stores; a hypermarket is a specific type of big-box store that includes a complete grocery section.

superstore ↗supermarket ↗big-box store ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • shop at a hypermarket
  • go to the hypermarket

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

The word hypermarket was borrowed from French hypermarché in the 1960s. The prefix hyper- comes from Greek huper (over, beyond) and marché is the French word for market. The term was created to describe the new very large shops being built on the edges of French towns, which combined a supermarket and a department store in one building.