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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
They have introduced a boutique spa for 2026 as they said demand for wellbeing activities continued to boom and it will offer treatment tents, facials and aromatherapy as "moments of serenity" for festival-goers.
From BBC • Jul. 12, 2026
“Our digital initiatives, new boutique openings and strategic marketing investments continued to drive increased awareness and widespread affinity for the Aritzia brand,” Wong said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026
In 2021, Legal and General planned a £50m revamp of the building including a 207-room boutique hotel and "hospitality hub", but this fell through.
From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026
I work at Feature, which is a sneaker boutique in Studio City.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2026
Moss locked his bike up in front of a baby-clothes boutique, one of those shops where an afternoon’s shopping spree might be worth more than his mom paid in rent for a month.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
