shop

plural shops

1. countableuncountableAn establishment that sells goods or services to the public; originally only a physical location, but now a virtual establishment as well.

   From shop to shop Wandering, and littering with unfolded silks The polished counter.

   1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC

   Synonyms: boutique

2. countableuncountableA place where things are manufactured or crafted; a workshop.

   A tailor called me in his shop.

   c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]

   1 more example

   I just left Dannemora and the same thing is happening here at Auburn prison […] They don't want to put me in the plate shop or let me have a good paying job.

   1986 December 14, Willie Rice, “He Is White And I Am Black”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 22, page 4

   Synonyms: atelier, studio, workshop

3. countableuncountableA large garage where vehicle mechanics work.

   The car's in the shop right now.

4. countableuncountableWorkplace; office. Used mainly in expressions such as shop talk, closed shop and shop floor.

   Synonyms: garage, office, place of work, workplace

5. figurativelyuncountableDiscussion of business or professional affairs.

   But Mary cut her short. "We don't allow shop at tea, Sally," she said firmly.

   1919, Virginia Woolf, Night and Day

   2 more examples

   What struck me about the occasion was the quiet though cheerful tone of the gathering, the restraint, noticeable also in the very few speeches. Chemistry was taboo, by common consent — no "shop" allowed.

   1917, South African Chemical Institute, Proceedings, page 28

   Nothing but shop was ever talked on any of these occasions. I am sure these close relationships were necessary for the conduct of the war, and I could not have grasped the whole position without them.

   1953, Winston Churchill, “Strain and Suspense”, in The Second World War, page 619

6. countableuncountableA variety of classes taught in junior or senior high school that teach vocational skills.

   Synonyms: carpentry, wood shop, woodwork

7. countableuncountableAn establishment where a barber or beautician works.

   a barber shop

8. countableuncountableAn act of shopping, especially routine shopping for food and other domestic supplies.

   This is where I do my weekly shop.

9. UKcolloquialcountableuncountableThe collective items bought (or to be bought) on a shopping trip.

   I’ve got a big shop, so feel free to go in front.

present singular third person shops · participle present shopping · participle past shopped · past shopped

1. intransitiveTo visit stores or shops to browse or explore merchandise, especially with the intention of buying such merchandise.

   He’s (gone) shopping for clothes.

   1 more example

   Why don’t you come shopping for gifts with me, early before the Christmas rush?

2. transitiveTo browse or purchase products from (a catalog, an internet website, etc.), mostly from home.

   Shop our new arrivals.

   1 more example

   You fantasized about having unhurried afternoons before the baby arrived to leisurely shop your favorite boutiques. Then the first crash hits — you no longer have the money to shop your favorite boutiques.

   1988, Sylvia Harney, Married beyond recognition: a humorous look at marriage, page 90

3. UKslangtransitiveTo report the criminal activities or whereabouts of someone to an authority.

   He shopped his mates in to the police.

   Synonyms: grass up

4. UKslangtransitiveTo imprison.
5. InternettransitiveTo photoshop; to digitally edit a picture or photograph.
6. archaicslangtransitiveTo dismiss from employment.

   Synonyms: fire, sack

7. colloquialtransitiveTo investigate or evaluate as a mystery shopper.

   2 more examples

   A grocery clerk who, after he had been "shopped" on occasions, was discharged because he had admitted that on one occasion he had not rung up a sale immediately after the transaction, as required by the company rule, but had recorded it later when he had remembered it, held discharged, but not for misconduct connected with his work […]

   quoted in 1970, United States. Bureau of Employment Security, Benefit Series Service: Unemployment Insurance (page 221-7)

   Because mystery shoppers' reports are presented to employees some time (often several days) after they have "been shopped," employees may not be able to recall who the mystery shopper was, even after the fact — and, consequently, they may be unable to judge the accuracy and fairness of these reports.

   2001, Stuart Tannock, Youth at Work: The Unionized Fast-food and Grocery Workplace, page 50

8. transitiveTo pitch (a book, script, etc.) to a publisher or studio.

1. datedUsed to attract the services of a shop assistant

1. A small village in Morwenstow parish, north Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SS2214).
2. A neighbourhood of St Merryn, St Merryn parish, north Cornwall (OS grid ref SW8773).