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pawnshop

American  
[pawn-shop] / ˈpɔnˌʃɒp /

noun

  1. the shop of a pawnbroker, especially one where unredeemed items are displayed and sold.

pawnshop British  
/ ˈpɔːnˌʃɒp /

noun

  1. the premises of a pawnbroker

"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

Etymology

Origin of pawnshop

First recorded in 1840–50; pawn 1 + 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.

“Without having a rigorous, effective enforcement, nothing’s going to happen,” said Tony DeMarco, a pawnshop owner and president of the Whittier Boulevard Merchants Assn., which opposed the ordinance.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2024

Instead, I drove to a pawnshop in White Center, purchased an old Discman and plugged it into the adapter.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 11, 2023

Deborah Pomeranz, a provenance researcher at Berlin City Museum, said it acquired about 4,700 silver objects from a Berlin pawnshop from 1939 to 1940.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2023

In 1998, he decided to try DJing professionally and went to the pawnshop to buy better equipment.

From Washington Post • Nov. 18, 2022

The pawnshop owner says, “Reynolds Pawn closed last month. I’m the only shop in town.”

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle

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.