warehouse

[wair-hous, wair-houz, -hous]

noun

plural

warehouses 

1. a building, or a part of one, for the storage of goods, merchandise, etc.

2. British.,  a large retail store.

3. 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)

warehoused, warehousing 

1. to place, deposit, or store in a warehouse.

2. to set aside or accumulate, as for future use.

3. to place in a government or bonded warehouse, to be kept until duties are paid.

4. Informal.,  to confine (the mentally ill) to large institutions for long-term custodial care.

warehouse

noun

1. a place where goods are stored prior to their use, distribution, or sale

2. See bonded warehouse

3. a large commercial, esp wholesale, establishment

verb

1. (tr) to store or place in a warehouse, esp a bonded warehouse

Other Word Forms

• miniwarehouse noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of warehouse¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; ware ¹, house

Example Sentences

Harrison & Hayes claimed to be a Manchester-based independent clothes shop with "decades of experience" but has a returns address to a central warehouse in China.

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Robots today can be easily and quickly trained to move across a warehouse floor or to navigate a rocky field.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

One diarist, Samuel Bamford, gave up a warehouse job to become a weaver and wrote that the change gave him leisure time to enjoy “country amusements with the other young fellows.”

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With no staff to distribute the biscuits, they expired while sitting in a warehouse in Dubai.

Read more on Salon

Reeves had vowed to introduce the lowest taxes since 1991 for pubs, restaurants and small shops by increasing the levy on higher-value properties such as warehouses used by Amazon and other online giants.

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