boutique
Americannoun
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a small shop or a small specialty department within a larger store, especially one that sells fashionable clothes and accessories or a special selection of other merchandise.
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any small, exclusive business offering customized service.
Our advertising is handled by a new Madison Avenue boutique.
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Informal. a small business, department, etc., specializing in one aspect of a larger industry.
one of Wall Street's leading research boutiques.
adjective
noun
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a shop, esp a small one selling fashionable clothes and other items
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of or denoting a small specialized producer or business
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( as modifier )
a boutique winery
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a small specialized stall or shopping area within a supermarket, esp selling fresh meat, seafood, etc
Etymology
Origin of boutique
1760–70; < French, Middle French, probably < Old Provençal botica, botiga (with Late Greek ē > ī ) < Greek apothḗkē; see apothecary, bottega
Explanation
A boutique is a small shop, especially one that sells women's clothes and jewelry. If you like to shop, you probably love going to all the little boutiques downtown. Boutique comes from a French word of the same spelling, which means any small shop. The word has its roots in the Greek word apotheke, meaning "a warehouse." The same root word also gave rise to the English word apothecary. The word boutique often has an air of exclusivity. The boutiques on Fifth Avenue in New York can be so expensive that you might feel like you can't even afford to walk in the door.
Vocabulary lists containing boutique
English Words Derived from French, List 6
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Starfish
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The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
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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.
"We were sold this expectation the World Cup would be a big phenomenon, people have been talking about it for years," said Deidre Mathis, who owns the Wanderstay Boutique Hotel in Houston, Texas.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
The exiles, who hang paintings of their activist heroes at Chagos Refugees Group headquarters in Pointe aux Sables and slap down dominoes outside of the Chagos Boutique in Tombeau Bay, have tried to fight back.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
However, he could recall debuting The Rockafeller Skank itself, at Brighton's Big Beat Boutique in early 1998.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
Boutique gyms and chain fitness centers are common in malls.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2025
The name of this store is The Sleek Boutique, though it’s not really a boutique: it’s crammed full of ends-of-line, low on overhead.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
