Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

showroom

American  
[shoh-room, -room] / ˈʃoʊˌrum, -ˌrʊm /

noun

  1. a room used for the display of goods or merchandise.

verb (used without object)

  1. to come into a store to view merchandise and then purchase it from a competitor, usually online, as to get a lower price or wider selection.

    For shoes, I usually showroom at a couple of stores, then buy them cheaper online.

  2. to be used as a place to view rather than buy merchandise.

    No store wants to showroom for a website.

verb (used with object)

  1. to display (merchandise) in a showroom.

  2. to enter a store and view (merchandise) before purchasing it from a competitor, usually online.

  3. to use or encourage people to use (a store) as a place to view rather than buy merchandise.

    The online retailers are showrooming us out of business.

    We’re being showroomed by consumers who browse our stores without buying.
showroom British  
/ ˈʃəʊˌruːm, -ˌrʊm /

noun

  1. a room in which goods, such as cars, are on display

"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

Other Word Forms

  • showrooming noun

Etymology

Origin of showroom

First recorded in 1610–20; show + room

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.

Only a few hundred of the silver color-way, on display in the showroom, were produced.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

"In March we sold 300-400 cars," he said, noting that the showroom normally sells between 200 and 250 cars a month.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

In Hästens mattress showroom on Beverly Boulevard, he hosts a small but sought-after sound bath happening called the “Deep Reset Luxury Sound Bath Experience.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

“There’s definitely buzz on the showroom floor of, ‘How long are they going to be high?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Her living room looks like she bought a whole showroom at a furniture store—everything matching and perfectly in its place.

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson

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.