store

American  

[stawr] / stɔr /

noun

• stores
  plural

1. an establishment where merchandise is sold, usually on a retail basis.

2. a grocery.

   We need bread and milk from the store.

3. a stall, room, floor, or building housing or suitable for housing a retail business.

4. a supply or stock of something, especially one for future use.

5. stores, supplies of food, clothing, or other requisites, as for a household, inn, or naval or military forces.

6. Chiefly British. a storehouse or warehouse.

7. quantity, especially great quantity; abundance, or plenty.

   a rich store of grain.

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verb (used with object)

• stores,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stored,
  past participle,  past
• storing
  present participle

1. to supply or stock with something, as for future use.

2. to accumulate or put away, for future use (usually followed by up oraway ).

   Synonyms:

   stockpile, hoard, husband, save, amass

3. to deposit in a storehouse, warehouse, or other place for keeping.

4. Computers. to put or retain (data) in a memory unit.

verb (used without object)

• stores,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stored,
  past participle,  past
• storing
  present participle

1. to take in or hold supplies, goods, or articles, as for future use.

2. to remain fresh and usable for considerable time on being stored.

   Flour stores well.

adjective

1. bought from a store; commercial.

   a loaf of store bread.

idioms

1. in store,

   1. in readiness or reserve.

   2. about to happen; imminent.

      There is a great deal of trouble in store for them if they persist in their ways.

2. set / lay store by, to have high regard for; value; esteem.

   She sets great store by good character.

store British  

/ stɔː /

verb

1. (tr) to keep, set aside, or accumulate for future use

2. (tr) to place in a warehouse, depository, etc, for safekeeping

3. (tr) to supply, provide, or stock

4. (intr) to be put into storage

5. computing to enter or retain (information) in a storage device

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noun

1. 1. an establishment for the retail sale of goods and services

   2. ( in combination )

      storefront

2. 1. a large supply or stock kept for future use

   2. ( as modifier )

      store ship

3. short for department store

4. 1. a storage place such as a warehouse or depository

   2. ( in combination )

      storeman

5. the state of being stored (esp in the phrase in store )

6. a large amount or quantity

7. computing another name for memory

8. Also called: store pig.  a pig that has not yet been weaned and weighs less than 40 kg

9. 1. an animal bought lean to be fattened up for market

   2. ( as modifier )

      store cattle

10. forthcoming or imminent

11. to value or reckon as important

store More Idioms  

1. see in store; mind the store; set store by; variety store.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• storer
  noun
• substore
  noun
• overstore
  verb
• storable
  adjective
• well-stored
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stores
  plural

Participles

• storing
  present
• stored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• store
  simple
• stores
  simple
• have stored
  perfect
• has stored
  perfect
• am storing
  progressive
• are storing
  progressive
• is storing
  progressive
• have been storing
  perfect progressive
• has been storing
  perfect progressive

Past

• stored
  simple
• had stored
  perfect
• was storing
  progressive
• were storing
  progressive
• had been storing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will store
  simple
• will have stored
  perfect
• will be storing
  progressive
• will have been storing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of store

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English verb storen, shortening of astoren, from Old French estorer, from Latin instaurāre “to repeat, start over, set up,” equivalent to in- intensive prefix + combining form staur- (akin to Greek staurós “pole, cross” and Old Norse staurr “pole”) + -āre infinitive suffix; noun derived from the verb; see origin at in- ², steer ¹, restore

Explanation

As the sentence "This store stores a large store of rubber ducks" will tell you, store is a word with a lot of definitions. Among these are "a place that sells items," "the act of keeping things for future use," and "a supply of something." As a noun, store often refers to a place where things are sold, such as an electronics store. This meaning of the word likely sprang up from the original meaning, "a supply of something kept for future use." As a verb, store refers to the act of putting things away for later. Chipmunks store nuts in their cheeks, people store their winter clothes when springtime arrives, and techies store information on backup drives.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

store stores stored storing

Throughout the day, confused shoppers pop into her store for advice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The St. Francis Dam, part of the larger aqueduct system, was meant to store surplus water.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

From her clothing store on the high street, she has distributed official-looking signage spelling out exactly where to park and for how long without risking a ticket.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Watching Banderas spend a day simmering his own handcrafted ketchup simply to store it in repurposed Heinz bottles says everything about the guy’s devotion to food and his indifference toward marketing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The portrait studio was wedged between a barbershop and a shoe store.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

In June, Starbucks stores across the country closed for half a day to allow staff to attend history lessons.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

More police forces are adopting A.I. facial scanners; the tech is being piloted in schools, buses, and stores as well.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

The Covent Garden street where the incident unfolded, lined with stores and outdoor seating, was cordoned off with police tape for several hours.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Walk into most grocery stores or gyms, and you’ll find a wall of sleek cans with the caffeine of roughly three espresso shots, zero sugar and sans-serif pledges to accelerate metabolism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

A book about one of Lady Franklin’s rescue missions, The Voyage of the Fox, was among the nonessential stores and equipment left behind at Ocean Camp.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

The memories may be stored in a way that makes them return involuntarily and without conscious control.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

That data is saved somewhere and stored forever, whether or not you want it to be.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

Zeif got his hands on 75 yogurts, which he stored in a freezer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

The hydrated material stored far more charge, charged much faster, and continued to perform reliably for more than 400 charge cycles.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

Chase knew exactly what they had, and where all of it was stored.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Worse, burned trees release the carbon they were storing, then destroy other plant life that could keep that carbon absorbed.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026

Dino saved all the signed bats and batting gloves that Brady and Trey won off Pujols and Trout, storing them in a room full of baseball memorabilia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

More recently, the state alleged that Bhakta violated state law by storing spirits on campus and renovated his house, which is on the state’s Register of Historic Places, without needed approvals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

However, the findings suggest that projections of forests growing larger and storing substantially more carbon in a warmer, CO2 rich world may need to be reconsidered.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

The two spies had better luck in Concord, where they learned that the Patriots were grinding meal into flour for soldiers’ rations and were storing “powder and cartridges.”

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

Related Words

• boutique
• chain store
• convenience store
• deli
• department store
• discount store
• drugstore
• emporium
• grocery store
• market
• outlet
• shop
• shopping center
• showroom
• supermarket