retail

[ ree-teyl for 1-4, 6; ri-teyl for 5 ]
See synonyms for retail on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the sale of goods to ultimate consumers, usually in small quantities (opposed to wholesale).

adjective
  1. pertaining to, connected with, or engaged in sale at retail: the retail price.

adverb
  1. in a retail quantity or at a retail price.

verb (used with object)
  1. to sell at retail; sell directly to the consumer.

  2. to relate or repeat in detail to others: to retail scandal.

verb (used without object)
  1. to be sold at retail: It retails at 50 cents.

Origin of retail

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; (for the noun) late Middle English, from Anglo-French: “a cut,” derivative of retailler “to cut,” from re- re- + tailler “to cut” (see tail2); (for the verb) Middle English retailen, from Old French retailler

Other words from retail

  • re·tail·er, noun
  • non·re·tail, adjective
  • non·re·tail·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use retail in a sentence

  • He had talent of a kind, the talent that picks up swiftly what it hears and readily retails it for its own.

    Tales and Fantasies | Robert Louis Stevenson
  • In his adult years he will almost to a certainty commit zoological blunders similar to those which my gardener retails to me.

    More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre
  • I wonder if the world, which retails Guppy anecdotes, will be anything the wiser for it.

  • It is usually finished twenty-seven inches wide and retails at fourteen cents to twenty cents per yard.

    Textiles | William H. Dooley
  • The Partido cigar regularly retails at from twenty-five to thirty cents each.

British Dictionary definitions for retail

retail

/ (ˈriːteɪl) /


noun
  1. the sale of goods individually or in small quantities to consumers: Compare wholesale (def. 1)

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or engaged in such selling: retail prices

adverb
  1. in small amounts or at a retail price

verb
  1. to sell or be sold in small quantities to consumers

  2. (rɪˈteɪl) (tr) to relate (gossip, scandal, etc) in detail, esp persistently

Origin of retail

1
C14: from Old French retaillier to cut off, from re- + taillier to cut; see tailor

Derived forms of retail

  • retailer, noun

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

Cultural definitions for retail

retail

A term describing businesses that sell goods directly to individuals. (Compare wholesale.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.