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Showing results for department store. Search instead for Department+Stores.
Synonyms

department store

American  

noun

  1. a large retail store carrying a wide variety of merchandise and organized into various departments for sales and administrative purposes.


department store British  

noun

  1. a large shop divided into departments selling a great many kinds of goods

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of department store

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

High-end department store Fortnum & Mason is selling its own a short walk away.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

She said she used to purchase fabrics from the luxury department store Liberty London and her mother-in-law bought her a sewing machine and encouraged her to sew.

From BBC • May 30, 2026

Grilled "kabayaki" using fully farmed eel will be sold from May 29 at a department store in Tokyo and several other outlets including online shops in Japan.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

La Perla will hold such an event at Harrods department store in London in May.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

“This wight was discovered working in an American department store at Christmas. He was able to interact with a great many children in a remarkably short time—touching them, interrogating them—screening for signs of peculiarity.”

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

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