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
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.
The auction for items from Perry’s estate officially begins June 5, but interested buyers can preview the items from May 18 to May 29 at Heritage Auction’s showroom in Beverly Hills.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
Street Grandma’s new showroom features its unique silhouettes in a space that feels — as the namesake suggests — like nana’s house.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
While General Motors spent years working fruitlessly to develop rotary engines, Mazda’s efforts made it to the showroom floor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Dao Thi Hue, also at the showroom, was looking to go electric too.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 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.