Meaning of department store in English

department store

noun [ C ]

/dɪˈpɑːt.mənt ˌstɔːr/ us

/dɪˈpɑːrt.mənt ˌstɔːr/

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a large shop divided into several different parts, each of which sells different things

Synonym

emporium old-fashioned

See also

store noun (PLACE TO BUY GOODS)

Examples

Animal rights extremists have threatened to firebomb any department stores that continue to stock fur coats.
He's got a job demonstrating kitchen equipment in a department store.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Shops & auctions

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Examples from literature

By the 1920s in Japan robots were starting to appear in department stores.
Are our large department stores an injury to the country?
Hardware section of a department store.
Presents were distributed to the children and the mothers received an order for goods in one of the department stores.
The thousands of women employed in the New York department stores are of many kinds.
They went together to a department store and purchased a charming little bag with a lot of traveling accessories in plain compact form, light enough for an invalid to carry.

(Definition of department store from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

department store | American Dictionary

department store

noun [ C ]

/dɪˈpɑrt·mənt ˌstɔr, ˌstoʊr/

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a large store divided into several different areas, each of which sells different types of things

(Definition of department store from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

department store | Business English

department store

noun [ C ]

COMMERCE

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a large store that sells many kinds of products in different parts of the building:

She took a job as a sales assistant in the lingerie section of a department store.

(Definition of department store from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of department store

department store

During the induction week the project manager had sent them to a large department store to select their uniform.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There is thus nothing on this earlier period to match the outpouring of work on the nineteenth- and twentieth-century department store, for example.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The personnel manager of the department store fired the lazy salesman.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Another case demonstrates how important the physical extent of the department store was for the success of its business.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Whether this depended on buying land is another matter, but one which was apparently never questioned by department store managers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Later, she had worked part-time in a department store until she retired at 65 years of age.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It was nevertheless common for a department store to undertake major alteration work in a rented building with little regard for this condition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

As the middle classes developed with the growth of the capitalist economy, so too did expositions change their nature from mere catalogues to department store-like showcases of modern lifestyle.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A large department store may carry on its business in two blocks separated by a street.

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