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shopworn

American  
[shop-wawrn, ‑-wohrn] / ˈʃɒpˌwɔrn, ‑ˌwoʊrn /

adjective

  1. worn or marred, as goods exposed and handled in a store.

  2. trite; hackneyed.

shopworn British  
/ ˈʃɒpˌwɔːn /

adjective

  1. the US word for shopsoiled

"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 shopworn

First recorded in 1870–75; shop + worn

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.

Expect a setlist of shopworn classics from the 79-year-old singer.

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2025

“Knowledge is power” might be a shopworn cliché, but when it comes to emergencies, it’s absolutely true.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 11, 2023

Yet his portraits often seem constrained within narrow, shopworn categories.

From New York Times • Jul. 26, 2023

Unlike in Shekar’s “In Love and Warcraft,” a romantic comedy produced locally by No Rules Theatre Company in 2015, the narrative twists and rhythms in “Nice Indian Boy” feel shopworn and predictable.

From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2023

He was fat and looked shopworn around the nose and mouth as though he had hayfever.

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

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.