mom-and-pop

[mom-uhn-pop]

adjective

1. of or relating to a small retail business, usually owned and operated by members of a family.

   a mom-and-pop grocery.

2. of or indicating something, as an enterprise, investment, or project, that is independent, small in scope, and modestly financed.

noun

plural

mom-and-pops 

1. a small-scale, owner-operated business.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mom-and-pop¹

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55

Example Sentences

“I identify as pocho and there wasn’t a home for us. It was all either the mom-and-pop shops, or places that were way too modern,” Acosta said during a quiet lull one weekday.

From Los Angeles Times

For those in this mom-and-pop economy, which includes older workers pushed into early retirement or others who have been boxed out of the traditional labor market, convenience stores offer the most accessible form of entrepreneurship.

From Los Angeles Times

From established chains to mom-and-pop stores and chic restaurants that challenge tired stereotypes, they have all been taking off here before leapfrogging further afield, to elsewhere in South East Asia and then across the world.

From BBC

“Businesses have already become harder for mom-and-pop stores like us,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

“But underground music is filled with so many beautiful examples of a mom-and-pop business mentality. I don’t need to dominate the world, I don’t need to be Taylor Swift to be counted as a success. I don’t need a global reach, I just need to provide myself a good life.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• corporation 
• factory 
• firm 
• house 
• institution 
• market 
• organization 
• partnership 
• shop 
• store 
• venture