store

American  

[stawr] / stɔr /

noun

• stores
  plural

1. an establishment where merchandise is sold, usually on a retail basis.

2. a grocery.

   We need bread and milk from the store.

3. a stall, room, floor, or building housing or suitable for housing a retail business.

4. a supply or stock of something, especially one for future use.

5. stores, supplies of food, clothing, or other requisites, as for a household, inn, or naval or military forces.

6. Chiefly British. a storehouse or warehouse.

7. quantity, especially great quantity; abundance, or plenty.

   a rich store of grain.

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verb (used with object)

• stores,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stored,
  past participle,  past
• storing
  present participle

1. to supply or stock with something, as for future use.

2. to accumulate or put away, for future use (usually followed by up oraway ).

   Synonyms:

   stockpile, hoard, husband, save, amass

3. to deposit in a storehouse, warehouse, or other place for keeping.

4. Computers. to put or retain (data) in a memory unit.

verb (used without object)

• stores,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stored,
  past participle,  past
• storing
  present participle

1. to take in or hold supplies, goods, or articles, as for future use.

2. to remain fresh and usable for considerable time on being stored.

   Flour stores well.

adjective

1. bought from a store; commercial.

   a loaf of store bread.

idioms

1. in store,

   1. in readiness or reserve.

   2. about to happen; imminent.

      There is a great deal of trouble in store for them if they persist in their ways.

2. set / lay store by, to have high regard for; value; esteem.

   She sets great store by good character.

store British  

/ stɔː /

verb

1. (tr) to keep, set aside, or accumulate for future use

2. (tr) to place in a warehouse, depository, etc, for safekeeping

3. (tr) to supply, provide, or stock

4. (intr) to be put into storage

5. computing to enter or retain (information) in a storage device

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noun

1. 1. an establishment for the retail sale of goods and services

   2. ( in combination )

      storefront

2. 1. a large supply or stock kept for future use

   2. ( as modifier )

      store ship

3. short for department store

4. 1. a storage place such as a warehouse or depository

   2. ( in combination )

      storeman

5. the state of being stored (esp in the phrase in store )

6. a large amount or quantity

7. computing another name for memory

8. Also called: store pig.  a pig that has not yet been weaned and weighs less than 40 kg

9. 1. an animal bought lean to be fattened up for market

   2. ( as modifier )

      store cattle

10. forthcoming or imminent

11. to value or reckon as important

store More Idioms  

1. see in store; mind the store; set store by; variety store.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• storer
  noun
• substore
  noun
• overstore
  verb
• storable
  adjective
• well-stored
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stores
  plural

Participles

• storing
  present
• stored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• store
  simple
• stores
  simple
• have stored
  perfect
• has stored
  perfect
• am storing
  progressive
• are storing
  progressive
• is storing
  progressive
• have been storing
  perfect progressive
• has been storing
  perfect progressive

Past

• stored
  simple
• had stored
  perfect
• was storing
  progressive
• were storing
  progressive
• had been storing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will store
  simple
• will have stored
  perfect
• will be storing
  progressive
• will have been storing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of store

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English verb storen, shortening of astoren, from Old French estorer, from Latin instaurāre “to repeat, start over, set up,” equivalent to in- intensive prefix + combining form staur- (akin to Greek staurós “pole, cross” and Old Norse staurr “pole”) + -āre infinitive suffix; noun derived from the verb; see origin at in- ², steer ¹, restore

Explanation

As the sentence "This store stores a large store of rubber ducks" will tell you, store is a word with a lot of definitions. Among these are "a place that sells items," "the act of keeping things for future use," and "a supply of something." As a noun, store often refers to a place where things are sold, such as an electronics store. This meaning of the word likely sprang up from the original meaning, "a supply of something kept for future use." As a verb, store refers to the act of putting things away for later. Chipmunks store nuts in their cheeks, people store their winter clothes when springtime arrives, and techies store information on backup drives.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

store stores stored storing

They were followed on Monday by an explosion at a convenience store.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Amazon said it requires e-bikes sold in its store to meet applicable safety standards, and that it has worked with city officials to resolve idling fines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Raley’s, a California family-owned grocery store chain, is planning to close several stores in its home state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

By the end of this year Primus will have more than double its battery capacity, to store more energy from the factory's solar panels.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

“And the other has a smaller grocery store in San Francisco.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Canadian provinces' removal of US alcohol from liquor stores also saw exports of US spirits drop by over 70 percent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Raley’s, a California family-owned grocery store chain, is planning to close several stores in its home state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Joly said that amid the tariff war, Canadians should purchase domestically-made products from grocery stores and other retail outlets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

At Dick’s stores, sales grew 5.6% to $3.85 billion, below expectations of $4.1 billion, while Foot Locker sales of $1.74 billion fell short of analyst forecasts for $1.82 billion.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

The stores in town were running low on food and other things, Uncle Solly had explained.

From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis

But Tehran still has millions of barrels of oil stored offshore in oil tankers, mainly in the waters off Malaysia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

After the smoke subsided, residents reported feeling effects from the stench of rotting meat and food from the warehouse interior, where it had been stored frozen on tall racks that were hundreds of feet across.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

These kits won’t fix every tire, but they are an inexpensive, easily stored option that can get you back on the road long enough to replace a tire in many situations.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

The dinghies and equipment are now being stored at a secret location that the BBC was given special access to.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Betsie found a Hanukkah candlestand among the treasures stored with us behind the dining room cupboard and set it up on the upright piano.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The change would be even harder for landscapers who work as sole proprietors, with a single vehicle and limited space for charging and storing equipment.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Grossi also visited a previously undisclosed site for storing graphite and the location where the reactor stood in eastern Syria, where excavation work is taking place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

For his part, Ronald Khosla happened to keep up a yearly habit of storing all Canopy data in an external hard drive, because “Microsoft does not make backup easy,” he told me.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

Virgin was granted access last year to the Temple Mills International site for maintaining and storing trains, a critical requirement for an operator to launch services.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Nathan looked up from the grain he was measuring into the gunny bag for storing.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Related Words

• boutique
• chain store
• convenience store
• deli
• department store
• discount store
• drugstore
• emporium
• grocery store
• market
• outlet
• shop
• shopping center
• showroom
• supermarket