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open shop

American  

noun

  1. a factory, office, or other business establishment in which a union, chosen by a majority of the employees, acts as representative of all the employees in making agreements with the employer, but in which union membership is not a condition of employment.

open shop British  

noun

  1. an establishment in which persons are hired and employed irrespective of their membership or nonmembership of a trade union Compare closed shop union shop

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
open shop Cultural  

  1. A business that employs both unionized and nonunionized labor.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of open shop

First recorded in 1895–1900

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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.

Open shop hours are 5 to 9 p.m.

From Washington Times • Nov. 13, 2016

Open shop fronts and quaintly carven balconies were noisy with shrill voices.

From The Great Amulet by Diver, Maud

See also Open shop and closed shop.—Osborne judgment.

From Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Debate Index Second Edition by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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.