warehouse

American  

[wair-hous, wair-houz, -hous] / ˈwɛərˌhaʊs, ˈwɛərˌhaʊz, -ˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

warehouses

1. a building, or a part of one, for the storage of goods, merchandise, etc.

2. British. a large retail store.

3. a building, or a part of one, in which wholesalers keep large stocks of merchandise, which they display and sell to retailers.

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verb (used with object)

warehoused, warehousing

1. to place, deposit, or store in a warehouse.

2. to set aside or accumulate, as for future use.

3. to place in a government or bonded warehouse, to be kept until duties are paid.

4. Informal. to confine (the mentally ill) to large institutions for long-term custodial care.

warehouse British  

noun

1. a place where goods are stored prior to their use, distribution, or sale

2. See bonded warehouse

3. a large commercial, esp wholesale, establishment

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verb

1. (tr) to store or place in a warehouse, esp a bonded warehouse

Other Word Forms

• miniwarehouse noun

Etymology

Origin of warehouse

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; ware ¹, house

Example Sentences

“We had rows and rows of battery trays. We were just boxing them up and throwing them in warehouses,” said Daniel Martin, a former production supervisor at the factory.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Placing thousands of people in warehouses that were never intended to house human beings will only exacerbate these problems,” the letter reads.

From Salon

But the stadium has also served as a warehouse for food supplies, and Hezbollah held the lavish funeral there for its former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in September 2024.

From Barron's

Bell Potter says warehouse and distribution costs are almost certainly under threat from increased diesel prices and a range of inflationary cost pressures.

From The Wall Street Journal

Eager fans who turned up at the event, located in an industrial area of the Scottish city, described it as "little more than an abandoned, empty warehouse".

From BBC