warehouse
Americannoun
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a building, or a part of one, for the storage of goods, merchandise, etc.
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British. a large retail store.
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a building, or a part of one, in which wholesalers keep large stocks of merchandise, which they display and sell to retailers.
verb (used with object)
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to place, deposit, or store in a warehouse.
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to set aside or accumulate, as for future use.
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to place in a government or bonded warehouse, to be kept until duties are paid.
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Informal. to confine (the mentally ill) to large institutions for long-term custodial care.
noun
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a place where goods are stored prior to their use, distribution, or sale
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See bonded warehouse
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a large commercial, esp wholesale, establishment
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of warehouse
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at ware 1, house
Explanation
A warehouse is a place where a company stores things they are going to sell. If you order a book online, it is almost certainly shipped from a warehouse to your house. When a business has to store a lot of items, they often use a warehouse, or a large building, to keep them safe and organized until they're sold or made into a finished product. You can use the word warehouse as a verb, too: "I need to warehouse all these roller skates, because they're not selling as fast as I'd hoped." Warehouse combines ware, or "manufactured goods," and house. In other words, it's a place to house your wares.
Vocabulary lists containing warehouse
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 15
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 28–October 5, 2024
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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 couple met while working at Amazon in 1999, when they bonded over wrapping gifts on an overnight shift at a warehouse in Nevada.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
The New Jersey town of Roxbury, meanwhile, is trying to prevent the conversion of a commercial warehouse into a detention center.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
The appeal says the site is near industrial facilities, including a warehouse with ammonia refrigeration, which "creates significant health risks for occupants".
From BBC • May 27, 2026
Yet the order was picked, packed and shipped from an Amazon warehouse.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
It’s really just a big warehouse that a bunch of families bought and refurbished a long time ago.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
