strip mall

noun

1. a retail complex consisting of stores or restaurants in adjacent spaces in one long building, typically having a narrow parking area directly in front of the stores.

Word History and Origins

Origin of strip mall¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Migrants reportedly have been detained at Chicago-area construction sites, near a university building, along strip malls and outside schools.

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On a recent Sunday morning, in the weedy parking lot of a strip mall in Wayne, N.J.,

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Any treatment offered in a strip mall or marketed as life extension deserves immediate skepticism.

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Moments before the robbery Friday, the 88-year-old store owner and his adult son were getting ready to close the family business on Aborn Road in the nondescript strip mall.

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The home goods retailer, once common in strip malls and shopping centers, used to have more than 80 stores in California.

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Related Words

• arcade 
• bazaar 
• flea market 
• mall 
• plaza 
• shopping mall