closed shop

American

noun

a factory, office, or other business establishment in which union membership is a condition of being hired as well as of continued employment.

closed shop British

noun

(formerly) an industrial establishment in which there exists a contract between a trade union and the employer permitting the employment of the union's members only Compare open 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

closed shop Cultural

Technically, a business in which employees must join a labor union before being hired. This practice is now illegal. The term is used synonymously with union shop.

Etymology

Origin of closed shop

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Compare meaning

How does closed-shop compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

open shop vs. closed shop

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.

OnMoney closed shop shortly thereafter, and in 2026 there is no website at that address.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Hundreds of hedge funds closed shop, and the number of fund liquidations started exceeding the number of new launches.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

Roughly a third of the nation’s newspapers have closed shop since 2005.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2024

Peter Gilmour: Is F1 becoming a closed shop for new drivers?

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2024

The Pondicherry Zoo closed shop at just the right time.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023