shops
shops — noun
- shopssingular
- shopsesplural
1. a building or part of a building where goods or services are sold to the public.
a building or part of a building where goods or services are sold to the public.
Olivia bought a loaf of bread and some cheese from the shop on the corner.
The toy shop on Market Street has a big sale on board games this week.
pattern: [type of goods] + shop
Kabir runs a small flower shop near the train station with his sister.
Most shops in the town centre close at six o'clock every evening except Friday.
Lauren stopped at the gift shop to buy a present for her host family.
pattern: gift shop / coffee shop / flower shop — compound nouns for types of store
- run a shop
- open a shop
- shop assistant
- shop window
- gift shop
- coffee shop
- book shop
- clothes shop
- store
more common in American English; can refer to any size of retail outlet
- retail outlet
more formal, often used in business contexts
Grammar Patterns
a/the + shop + (selling/preposition/noun modifier)
Usage Note
In British English, shop is the usual word for a place where you buy things. In American English, store is more common, though shop is still used for smaller or specialist retailers.
Common Mistakes
2. a room or building where people make or repair things using tools and machines.
a room or building where people make or repair things using tools and machines.
The bicycle repair shop fixed Amani's flat tyre in less than fifteen minutes.
pattern: [type of goods] + repair shop
Yan spends every Saturday afternoon in his woodworking shop building furniture.
The auto repair shop on Oak Avenue employs three full-time mechanics.
pattern: auto repair shop / car repair shop
Dust and metal shavings covered the floor of the machine shop.
Manuela dropped off her broken watch at the jewellery repair shop near the library.
- repair shop
- machine shop
- woodwork shop
- auto shop
- workshop floor
- run a shop
Grammar Patterns
[type] + shop
workshop
repair shop
Usage Note
This sense typically appears in compound nouns where the first word names what is made or repaired (woodwork shop, repair shop, machine shop).
3. a company or organisation that operates as a place of work or business.
a company or organisation that operates as a place of work or business.
The whole shop took the day off to celebrate the boss's retirement.
collective use: 'the whole shop' meaning all employees
Walid's uncle runs a printing shop that employs about twenty people.
Nellie has worked at the same engineering shop since she left university.
The shop closed down last year after fifty years in the furniture trade.
- run a shop
- the shop floor
- shop steward
- set up shop
- shop talk
- business
broader term; can refer to any commercial organisation, not just a physical workplace
- firm
more formal; often used for professional services like law or accounting
- establishment
more formal, can refer to any business or institution
Grammar Patterns
run a shop
the shop (as metonym)
Usage Note
In British English, shop can refer to a business establishment or place of employment in any trade, not just retail. In American English, this usage is less common outside set phrases like 'the shop floor.'
4. a school class or workshop where students learn practical skills such as woodwor
a school class or workshop where students learn practical skills such as woodworking, metalwork, or car repair.
In shop class, Adina learned how to measure and cut wood for a birdhouse.
The high school's shop programme includes courses in welding and electronics.
pattern: shop + programme / class / course
Quinn built a small bookshelf in shop using only hand tools.
The shop teacher showed the students how to use the saw safely.
- shop class
- shop teacher
- shop project
- take shop
- shop room
- shop tools
- woodwork class
narrower — specifically about woodworking, not general trade skills
- trade class
broader term for vocational training at any level
Grammar Patterns
shop class
shop + noun
Usage Note
Used primarily in American English to refer to a hands-on class in secondary schools. In British English, the equivalent is often called design and technology (D&T) or woodwork/metalwork class.
5. a small business where a barber cuts people's hair and often shaves beards.
a small business where a barber cuts people's hair and often shaves beards.
Jude went to the barber shop on Elm Street for a trim before the wedding.
The barber shop near the station is open from eight in the morning until six at night.
Old photographs of the 1950s barber shop hang on the wall above the mirrors.
collocation: barber shop + location/decoration
Ingrid took her son to the barber shop for his very first haircut.
- barber shop + on [street]
- go to the barber shop
- open a barber shop
- barbershop
same meaning; barbershop is more common in American English as a single word
- hair salon
usually for longer hairstyles or women's hair, not just a barber
Grammar Patterns
a/the + shop + (for + noun)
6. a style of singing popular romantic songs from the early twentieth century, usin
a style of singing popular romantic songs from the early twentieth century, using four voices that blend closely together without any musical instruments.
Putri joined a barbershop group that practises old love songs every Thursday evening.
The barbershop quartet wore matching striped jackets at the community talent show.
collocation: barbershop quartet
Barbershop singing became popular in the United States during the early twentieth century.
Renata loves the warm, close sound of a well-trained barbershop chorus.
- barbershop quartet
- barbershop harmony
- barbershop chorus
- sing barbershop
- close harmony
a broader term for any style where voices stay close in pitch, not specific to barbershop
Grammar Patterns
barbershop + noun (quartet, group, harmony)
Usage Note
This sense is uncountable when referring to the style of music; a group that performs this music is called a barbershop quartet or barbershop chorus.
Common Mistakes
shops — verb
- shopspresent simple I / you / we / they
- shopses3rd person singular
- shopsing-ing form
- shopsedpast simple
1. to visit one or more places where goods are sold, intending to buy something.
to visit one or more places where goods are sold, intending to buy something.
Hassan shops at the supermarket every Friday after work.
The two friends went shopping for wedding dresses all afternoon.
pattern: go shopping + for + [item]
Olivia usually shops online because it saves her a lot of time.
Rafael shops for fresh vegetables at the farmers' market every Saturday.
pattern: shop + for + [specific items]
The city centre was so crowded that Trang decided not to shop there.
- shop for [item]
- go shopping
- shop online
- shop at [store]
- browse
suggests looking without necessarily intending to buy
Grammar Patterns
shop + (for + noun phrase)
go shopping
Usage Note
The phrase 'go shopping' is very common for describing the activity as a whole. 'Shop for' specifies what you intend to buy.
Common Mistakes
2. to compare prices or look at different stores' offers before deciding where to b
to compare prices or look at different stores' offers before deciding where to buy something, in order to find the best deal.
Before buying a new phone, Faisal shopped around at six different electronics stores.
pattern: shop around + at + [shops] + for + [item]
It is always wise to shop around for car insurance before renewing your policy.
Jude shopped around for the cheapest flight to Tokyo for almost two weeks.
Ravindra saved two hundred dollars by shopping around for a second-hand bicycle.
- shop around for [something]
- shop around at [stores]
- shop around before buying
- compare deals
more direct but less idiomatic
Grammar Patterns
shop around (for + noun phrase)
Usage Note
This sense almost always uses the phrasal verb form 'shop around' (with or without 'for'). The simple 'shop' without 'around' does not carry the price-comparing meaning.
Common Mistakes
3. to regularly buy goods or services from a particular store or business as a cust
to regularly buy goods or services from a particular store or business as a customer.
Manuela has shopped at the same grocery store on Green Street for ten years.
pattern: shop at + [store name] — for regular custom
Most locals shop the small bakeries in the old town rather than the big supermarkets.
pattern: shop + [store type] — direct object, informal
Ingrid refuses to shop that chain because of its poor labour practices.
Kabir and his family shop the farmers' market every weekend for fresh produce.
- shop at [store]
- shop [store name]
- shop locally
- shop the sales
- boycott
deliberately avoid buying from a store as a protest
Grammar Patterns
shop + [store name]
shop at + [store]
Usage Note
When used transitively with a store name as direct object ('shop the farmers' market'), it is informal. The standard prepositional form ('shop at / shop in') works in all registers.
4. to give information about someone to the police or other authorities, secretly a
to give information about someone to the police or other authorities, secretly and often for personal gain.
The thief shopped his partner to the police in exchange for a lighter sentence.
pattern: shop + [person] + to + [authority]
Nobody in the gang trusted Eli because they suspected he had shopped them.
Ravindra was terrified that his former cellmate would shop him to the warden.
The informant shopped several drug dealers to the local police unit.
- shop [someone] to the police
- shop [someone] to the authorities
- protect
to keep someone's secret instead of revealing it
Grammar Patterns
shop + [person] + to + [police/authorities]
Usage Note
Strongly informal and mainly British slang. In American English, the equivalent expressions are 'rat on,' 'snitch on,' or 'turn someone in.'
Common Mistakes
5. to take something, such as a product, idea, or piece of writing, to several poss
to take something, such as a product, idea, or piece of writing, to several possible buyers or publishers, hoping that at least one will agree to take it.
The author shopped her novel around to twelve different publishers before one said yes.
pattern: shop + [item] + around + to + [buyers]
Yara is shopping her business plan to several banks to find an investor.
The film producer shopped the script to every major studio in Hollywood.
After developing the app, Lan shopped it around to three different software companies.
- shop [something] around
- shop [something] to [buyer]
- shop a manuscript
- shop a proposal
Grammar Patterns
shop + [something] + around/to + [potential buyers]
Usage Note
Often used with 'around' to emphasise that the offer is made to multiple potential buyers or partners. The direct object is the thing being offered for sale or consideration.
Word family
- shopnounA1
- shopverbA1
- shoppernounA2
- shoppingnounA1
- shopliftverbB1
- shoplifternounB1
- shopkeepernounA2
- workshopnounB1
- window-shoppingnounB1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All four words refer to places where goods are sold, but they differ in size, specialisation, and regional usage. Shop is the most common word in British English for any retail space, from a corner shop selling groceries to a gift shop in a museum. Store is the dominant term in American English and tends to suggest a larger establishment, such as a department store or a grocery store. Boutique describes a small, fashionable shop that sells stylish or specialised items, often clothing or accessories. Outlet usually means either a manufacturer's discount store or an official retail point for a specific brand. For everyday use in British English, shop is the safest choice; in American English, store is more natural. A learner would rarely go wrong picking shop for small, specialist retailers in either variety.
Common collocations
Adverbs
- online
- locally
- responsibly
- second-hand
- duty-free
Phrases
- shop till you drop
- set up shop
- shop talk
- shop floor
- all over the shop
Etymology
The word shop comes from the Old English 'sceoppa,' meaning a booth or stall for selling goods, which in turn came from a West Germanic root. From the start it referred to a small place where a merchant sold things. By the 1300s it was also being used for any workplace where things were made, like a carpenter's shop. The verb sense 'to visit shops' appeared in the 1700s. The slang meaning 'to inform on someone' developed in British criminal slang in the 1800s, possibly from the idea of bringing someone before the magistrate at the 'shop' (the police station).
First known use
14th century
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb