variety store

American  

noun

1. a retail store, as a five-and-ten, carrying a large variety of goods, especially low-priced articles.

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variety store Idioms  

1. A retail shop that carries a large selection of usually inexpensive merchandise, as in What this town needs is a good variety store. [Second half of 1700s]

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Etymology

Origin of variety store

An Americanism dating back to 1760–70

Example Sentences

That was 2019, nearly a decade after entrepreneur Wang Ning opened Pop Mart as a variety store, similar to a pound shop, in Beijing.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2025

He was accused of passing a TSA screening checkpoint, entering a boarding gate concourse and taking a pair of sunglasses from a variety store before he was arrested.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2022

The 69-year-old, who owns Discoteca y Novedades Tierra Caliente, a variety store in Huntington Park, has managed to not get infected this whole time.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2022

Beiter’s owner Tom Beiter said he voluntarily closed his variety store because the virus made his employees fearful about coming to work.

From Washington Post • May 12, 2020

I went into a little variety store and bought a metal serving spoon.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos