retail
Americannoun
adjective
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
retails,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retailed,
past participle, past
-
retailing
present participle
-
to sell at retail; sell directly to the consumer.
-
to relate or repeat in detail to others.
to retail scandal.
verb (used without object)
-
retails,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retailed,
past participle, past
-
retailing
present participle
noun
adjective
adverb
verb
-
to sell or be sold in small quantities to consumers
-
(tr) to relate (gossip, scandal, etc) in detail, esp persistently
Usage
What does retail mean? Retail is the sale of goods to the person who will actually use the goods. It is often used to describe the consumer goods industry, as in Jade worked in retail over the summer break to earn money for school. Retail is also used to describe something related to sales at retail, as in While the wholesale price is low, the retail price is much higher because the store’s rent is also very high. To retail is to sell directly to the consumer or to be sold at retail. Example: The retail store down the road has a sale on all sorts of good stuff today.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
retailsimple
-
retailssimple
-
have retailedperfect
-
has retailedperfect
-
am retailingprogressive
-
are retailingprogressive
-
is retailingprogressive
-
have been retailingperfect progressive
-
has been retailingperfect progressive
Past
-
retailedsimple
-
had retailedperfect
-
was retailingprogressive
-
were retailingprogressive
-
had been retailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retail
First recorded in 1375–1425; (for the noun) late Middle English, from Anglo-French: “a cut,” derivative of retailler “to cut,” from re- re- + tailler “to cut” ( see tail 2); (for the verb) Middle English retailen, from Old French retailler
Explanation
If you buy a pair of jeans at your neighborhood Chique Boutique, you’re buying retail, but if you go to China and buy a boatload of jeans directly from the manufacturer, you’re buying wholesale, which is the opposite of retail. If you make your living growing flowers, you may have a retail shop where you sell to people buying flowers for themselves, and you may also have a wholesale business, where you sell flowers to florists and supermarkets who sell your flowers to their customers. As you have probably figured out, the retail shops — the florists and supermarkets — add their own markup to the wholesale price you charge them, so they can make a profit, too.
Vocabulary lists containing retail
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 2
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Quartering Act (1765)
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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.
See Examples For:
New store openings, expansions and relocations have helped boost the company’s direct retail sales across its 142 boutiques this year, it said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
While exports were the key "booster", the third quarter was "particularly difficult" for China, as retail performance was weak and fixed-asset investment declined, Dan Wang, a director on Eurasia Group's China team, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
PPI inflation data and September advance retail sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The house, with origins in the 15th Century, belonged to textile, fashion and retail entrepreneur Laura Ashley and her husband Bernard and owned by the family until his death in 2009.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
No one is singular, and the possessive that goes with it should be singular, too: No one in her right mind pays retail.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
That is good business: The company sells a school kit that includes four LifeVac devices and retails for nearly $280, though it offers schools a 20% discount.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
A bag of a similar style to the one Bekyarova-Delev bought retails for about £1,500 on the official Prada website.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The 14-inch MacBook Pro, which once sold for $1,700, now retails for $2,000, while the iPad Air increased from $600 to $750.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
To illustrate, consider a scenario in which you purchase an iPhone 17 standard model, which retails for around $800, with bitcoin that you purchased for half its current price.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
The one is the importer, as it were, of the article wholesale, and the other retails the article thus imported.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 13 by Various
It retailed for $599, which is about $3,400 in today’s money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
They retailed for $399 and reportedly sold out immediately, or at least orders for them did.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
The Ocean’s base model retailed for $38,999 with the highest trim version going for more than $60,000, until a series of sharp price cuts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2024
His latest pick, an embossed biker jacket from American fashion house Tom Ford, retailed for almost $9,000.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2024
He retailed to them the curious interchange of phrases he had overheard on the journey from Aleppo.
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
Teaming up with Amazon, the CEO added, would allow Delta to build on its use of Amazon Web Services and to take advantage of Amazon’s capabilities in retailing, gaming and video.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Those pillows are their best-selling gift item, retailing at $59.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The $13 billion figure shows the strength of the company’s railroad, energy and manufacturing, service, and retailing units.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
Jeff Bezos saw how the new technology could revolutionize retailing again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
“Well,” Dad said, leaning back, “it's very good of you and Alice to worry, Brian, but the retailing sector is holding its own and Greenland is robust.”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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