mama shop

/ˈmɑːmə ʃɒp/Singapore/ˈmɑmɑ ˌʃɒp/

noun

A small, owner-operated convenience store sometimes found in void decks under high-rise apartment blocks.

OriginTamil மாமா →
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Meanings

nounmama shop (plural mama shops)

plural mama shops · alternative mamak shop

  1. SingaporeA small, owner-operated convenience store sometimes found in void decks under high-rise apartment blocks.

    […] Mr S Gunashekaran, […] took over the running of the “mama shop” which was owned by his father at a void deck in Yishun Ring Road.

    2011 August 31, Carolyn Quek, Today, Singapore: Mediacorp Press, →OCLC, page 24

Origin

  1. Tamilமாமா“uncle”
  2. Englishmama shop

From Tamil மாமா (māmā, “uncle”) + shop.

More words from Tamil

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mama shop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mama%20shop

MLA

“mama shop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mama%20shop. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mama shop,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mama%20shop.

Source: mama shop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.