retail
Americannoun
adjective
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
retails,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retailed,
past participle, past
-
retailing
present participle
-
to sell at retail; sell directly to the consumer.
-
to relate or repeat in detail to others.
to retail scandal.
verb (used without object)
-
retails,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retailed,
past participle, past
-
retailing
present participle
noun
adjective
adverb
verb
-
to sell or be sold in small quantities to consumers
-
(tr) to relate (gossip, scandal, etc) in detail, esp persistently
Usage
What does retail mean? Retail is the sale of goods to the person who will actually use the goods. It is often used to describe the consumer goods industry, as in Jade worked in retail over the summer break to earn money for school. Retail is also used to describe something related to sales at retail, as in While the wholesale price is low, the retail price is much higher because the store’s rent is also very high. To retail is to sell directly to the consumer or to be sold at retail. Example: The retail store down the road has a sale on all sorts of good stuff today.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
retailsimple
-
retailssimple
-
have retailedperfect
-
has retailedperfect
-
am retailingprogressive
-
are retailingprogressive
-
is retailingprogressive
-
have been retailingperfect progressive
-
has been retailingperfect progressive
Past
-
retailedsimple
-
had retailedperfect
-
was retailingprogressive
-
were retailingprogressive
-
had been retailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retail
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 tail 2); (for the verb) Middle English retailen, from Old French retailler
Explanation
If you buy a pair of jeans at your neighborhood Chique Boutique, you’re buying retail, but if you go to China and buy a boatload of jeans directly from the manufacturer, you’re buying wholesale, which is the opposite of retail. If you make your living growing flowers, you may have a retail shop where you sell to people buying flowers for themselves, and you may also have a wholesale business, where you sell flowers to florists and supermarkets who sell your flowers to their customers. As you have probably figured out, the retail shops — the florists and supermarkets — add their own markup to the wholesale price you charge them, so they can make a profit, too.
Vocabulary lists containing retail
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 2
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Quartering Act (1765)
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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.
See Examples For:
A report from administrators AlixPartners said there were "insufficient funds" for payouts to those owed money by the brewer's retail arm.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
On Thursday, average U.S. retail prices hit $6.40—another record—compared with $3.71 a year earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The U.S. average retail diesel price hit a fresh all-time high of $6.40 a gallon on Thursday, the latest in a string of records.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Despite the efforts of our supplier, our purchase price exceeds Total's retail price by several dozen cents," the stations said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
However, Water Street turned a little sour on the other side of the park, where things went retail.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
That is good business: The company sells a school kit that includes four LifeVac devices and retails for nearly $280, though it offers schools a 20% discount.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
A bag of a similar style to the one Bekyarova-Delev bought retails for about £1,500 on the official Prada website.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The 14-inch MacBook Pro, which once sold for $1,700, now retails for $2,000, while the iPad Air increased from $600 to $750.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
In the world of men’s fashion, Florsheim is a widely available and decidedly midtier option; it typically retails for about $145.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
Today there are spooky gumshoed armies of "security consultants," "rent-a-cops," "private eyes," "outside experts"—every manner of shady operator who retails in "results" and discretion.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Bruce Sterling
It retailed for $599, which is about $3,400 in today’s money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The Air Jordan shoe, designed by Peter Moore, first retailed in 1985.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2025
They retailed for $399 and reportedly sold out immediately, or at least orders for them did.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
The Ocean’s base model retailed for $38,999 with the highest trim version going for more than $60,000, until a series of sharp price cuts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2024
An ounce of phosphorus retailed for six guineas–perhaps five hundred dollars in today’s money–or more than gold.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
But the tech won't come cheap - retailing at $2,195 in the US and £1,995 in the UK.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Wilson built Lululemon into a retailing juggernaut and helped create the athleisure category—a term he has said he hates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Jeff Bezos saw how the new technology could revolutionize retailing again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The upgrade comes after figures released last week showed the economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of the year, led by a rebound in areas such as retailing and construction.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
“Well,” Dad said, leaning back, “it's very good of you and Alice to worry, Brian, but the retailing sector is holding its own and Greenland is robust.”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
