shop around
Britishverb
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to visit a number of shops or stores to compare goods and prices
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to consider a number of possibilities before making a choice
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Look for the best bargain, opportunity, or the like, as in This job offers only minimum wage so she decided to shop around for one with better pay . This expression alludes to looking in different stores in search of bargains or a particular item. [c. 1920]
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Look for a buyer for, offer for sale to various parties, as in The company is now being actively shopped around . [Second half of 1900s]
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.
People who don’t shop around for the best mortgage rate end up paying what Fellowes calls a “hidden homeownership tax.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
And then shop around among banks for a competitive interest rate and the lowest origination fee, if any.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 23, 2026
AI tools are making it easier for people to shop around for the lowest prices, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
Regulators and campaigners have encouraged people to shop around for a cheaper, fixed deal, depending on their circumstances.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
I figure I’ll give him some time alone while I shop around.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
