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

The building also houses the John Wolfson Rare Book Room, a lecture theatre, the Weston Foyer exhibition space and a climate-controlled store for the archive.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

“Was he minding the store? There’s a lot of work to be done at the office,” Rosenblum said.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Men come up to me in the grocery store.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

“It’s part of a broader commitment to deeply localizing its brands, and positions digital as the primary sales channel, rather than relying on traditional store distribution as the foundation.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

For some reason, polishing the furniture and the ceramics in the store didn’t feel as tedious as doing housework.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Upgrading its portfolio of 1,800 stores is high on the list of Boots' new owners, Wittington Investments.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

For 60 years, Cuban life revolved around a small well-thumbed ration book used by families to buy subsidized goods in state-run stores.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The system uses a metal ring that functions as a capacitor, a component that stores electrical energy in an electric field.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026

From our apartment, I could reach five coffee shops, more nail salons than any person could reasonably need, clothing stores, restaurants and the beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Behind them came the other dog teams pulling sleds that were each loaded with 900 pounds of stores and gear.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

One of the most unexpected findings involved glucagon, a hormone generally known for raising blood sugar by stimulating the liver to release stored glucose.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

"Waste stored since the communist era or produced by current factories contains chromium, nickel and zinc," Mehmeti said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

Oil stored in the SPR was down by 800,000 barrels at 283 million barrels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Dairy farmers had to rip open silage clamps stored up for the winter to feed the cattle as the grass failed.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

They knew because of Valley’s lessons that they sometimes stored their meals for later, but if there were already bones in the den, someone else hadn’t been as lucky.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

However, it does come with a heftier fee of 1.4%, partly reflecting the cost of storing the metal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

According to a 2022 inspection report, when the drugstore was asked, “How are you storing these?” because they’re not in the logs, he said, “It’s supposed to be a little bit freezing.”

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

This refers to the data storage company Snowflake, whose tools are used by dozens of firms for collecting, analysing and storing data.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

By storing blood in two battalion chief vehicles, paramedics are able to begin transfusions at the scene of a severe bleeding emergency instead of having to wait until the victim arrives at a hospital.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Although it didn't work anymore, it was still useful for storing supplies.

From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke

Related Words

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