showroom
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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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.
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to be used as a place to view rather than buy merchandise.
No store wants to showroom for a website.
verb (used with object)
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to display (merchandise) in a showroom.
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to enter a store and view (merchandise) before purchasing it from a competitor, usually online.
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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.
noun
Other Word Forms
- showrooming noun
Etymology
Origin of showroom
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.
He once ran into Cary Grant at a showroom in New York; the two acknowledged each other as equals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
“We use the space as a showroom, as a social space that transforms from a traditional workplace into more of an experiential space,” Rapp said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
In a showroom targeting the US market, images of cowboy hats, military tanks and whiskey adorned display shelves.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
The dealership sold high performance, executive and classic cars for 16 years from its showroom at Walnut Farm Science Park in Sidlesham.
From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026
The waving goddess stood outlined by the smoking metal wing as if she were a model in a showroom of plane wreckage.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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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.