shop
Pronunciation: (shop), [key] — n., v., interj. shopped, shop•ping,
—n. - a retail store, esp. a small one.
- a small store or department in a large store selling a specific or select type of goods: the ski shop at Smith's.
- the workshop of a craftsperson or artisan.
- the workshop of a person who works in a manual trade; place for doing specific, skilled manual work: a carpenter's shop.
- any factory, office, or business: Our ad agency is a well-run shop.
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- a course of instruction in a trade, as carpentry, printing, etc., consisting chiefly of training in the use of its tools and materials.
- a classroom in which such a course is given.
- one's trade, profession, or business as a subject of conversation or preoccupation.
- to go into business; begin business operations: to set up shop as a taxidermist.
- They couldn't make a go of it and had to shut up shop.
- to close a business temporarily, as at the end of the day.
- to suspend business operations permanently:They couldn't make a go of it and had to shut up shop.
- to discuss one's trade, profession, or business: After dinner we all sat around the table and talked shop.
—v.i. - to visit shops and stores for purchasing or examining goods.
- to seek or examine goods, property, etc., offered for sale: Retail merchants often stock their stores by shopping in New York.
- to seek a bargain, investment, service, etc. (usually fol. by for): I'm shopping for a safe investment that pays good interest.
—v.t. - to seek or examine goods, property, etc., offered for sale in or by: She's shopping the shoe stores this afternoon.
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- to put into prison; jail.
- to behave treacherously toward; inform on; betray.
- to try to sell (merchandise or a project) in an attempt to obtain an order or contract.
—interj. - (used in a store, shop, etc., in calling an employee to wait on a customer.)
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.