shop
noun /ʃɒp/
/ʃɑːp/
Idioms 
enlarge image[countable] (especially British English) a building or part of a building where you can buy goods or services- to open/close/run a shop
- There's a good selection of local shops.
- a record/pet shop
- a shoe shop
- (British English) a butcher’s shop
- (North American English) a butcher shop
- (British English) I'm just going to the shops. Can I get you anything?
- in a shop She works in a shop in the town centre.
- He was alone in the shop when the robber came in.
- shop owners in the area
Collocations ShoppingShoppingShoppingsee also betting shop, bucket shop, charity shop, chip shop, coffee shop, corner shop, factory shop, fish and chip shop, gift shop, junk shop, pro shop, smoke shop- go/go out/be out shopping
- go to (especially British English) the shops/(especially North American English) a store/(especially North American English) the mall
- do (British English) the shopping/(especially North American English) the grocery shopping/a bit of window-shopping
- (North American English, informal) hit/hang out at the mall
- try on clothes/shoes
- indulge in some retail therapy
- go on a spending spree
- cut/cut back on/reduce your spending
- be/get caught shoplifting
- donate something to/take something to/find something in (British English) a charity shop/(North American English) a thrift store
- buy/sell/find something at (British English) a car boot sale/(British English) a jumble sale/a garage sale/(North American English) a yard sale
- find/get/pick up a bargain
- load/push/wheel (British English) a trolley/(North American English) a cart
- stand in/wait in (British English) the checkout queue/(North American English) the checkout line
- (North American English) stand in line/ (British English) queue at the checkout
- bag (especially North American English) (your) groceries
- pack (away) (especially British English) your shopping
- stack/stock/restock the shelves at a store (with something)
- be (found) on/appear on supermarket/shop shelves
- be in/have in/be out of/run out of stock
- deal with/help/serve customers
- run a special promotion
- be on special offer
- make/complete a purchase
- buy/purchase something online/by mail order
- make/place/take an order for something
- buy/order something in bulk/in advance
- accept/take credit cards
- pay (in) cash/by (credit/debit) card/(British English) with a gift voucher/(North American English) with a gift certificate
- enter your PIN number
- ask for/get/obtain a receipt
- return/exchange an item/a product
- be entitled to/ask for/demand a refund
- compare prices
- offer (somebody)/give (somebody)/get/receive a 30% discount
Wordfinder- assistant
- buy
- counter
- display
- fitting room
- promotion
- sale
- shop
- store
- till
Extra ExamplesTopics Shoppinga1- I went around all the shops but I couldn't find a present for him.
- Mobile shops are invaluable to people in rural areas.
- She opened a flower shop in the High Street.
- She works part-time in a shop.
- The brothers opened a chain of electrical shops in the eighties.
- The post office is at the end of the row of shops.
- The shop offers a large selection of leather goods at reasonable prices.
- Your local pet shop should stock a variety of different collars.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- corner
- local
- village
- …
- parade
- row
- chain
- …
- have
- keep
- own
- …
- sell something
- offer something
- specialize in something
- …
- assistant
- manager
- manageress
- …
- around a/the shop
- round a/the shop
- at a/the shop
- …
- (also workshop)[countable] (especially in compounds) a place where things are made or repaired, especially part of a factory where a particular type of work is done
- a repair shop
- a paint shop (= where cars or other items are painted)
- [singular] (British English, informal) an act of going shopping, especially for food and other items needed in the house
- I do a weekly shop at the supermarket.
- (also shop class, industrial arts)(all North American English) [uncountable] a school subject in which students learn to make things from wood and metal using tools and machines
- (also workshop)[countable] (both North American English) a room in a house where tools are kept for making repairs to the house, building things out of wood, etc. see also closed shop, cop shop, open shop
where you buy something
for making/repairing things
shopping
school subject
room for tools
Word OriginMiddle English: shortening of Old French eschoppe ‘lean-to booth’, of West Germanic origin; related to German Schopf ‘porch’ and English dialect shippon ‘cattle shed’. The verb is first recorded (mid 16th cent.) in the sense ‘imprison’ (from an obsolete slang use of the noun for ‘prison’), which led to sense (3).
Idioms
all over the shop (British English, informal)
(also all over the place British and North American English)
(US English also all over the lot)
- everywhere
- New restaurants are appearing all over the shop.
- not neat or tidy; not well organized
- Your calculations are all over the shop (= completely wrong).
a bull in a china shop
- a person who is careless, or who moves or acts in a rough way, in a place or situation where skill and care are needed
- You’re not going to go storming in there like a bull in a china shop, are you?
close its doors | close shop
- (of a business, etc.) to stop trading
- The factory closed its doors for the last time in 2009.
- The company closed shop and left the US last year.
mind the shop (British English)
(North American English mind the store)
- to be in charge of something for a short time while somebody is away
- Who's minding the shop while the boss is abroad?
set up shop
- to start a business
- an area where many artists have set up shop
- Some buskers had set up shop outside the station.
shut up shop
- (British English, informal) to close a business permanently or to stop working for the day
talk shop
- (usually disapproving) to talk about your work with the people you work with, especially when you are also with other people who are not connected with or interested in it
- Whenever we meet up with Clive and Sue they always end up talking shop.