RETAIL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of retail in English

retail
noun [ U ]
us
/ˈriː.teɪl/ uk
/ˈriː.teɪl/
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C1
the activity of selling goods to the public, usually in stores:
The job is open to applicants with over two years' experience in retail.
The clothing company has six retail outlets (= shops) in Perth.
$13 off the manufacturer's recommended retail price
Compare
wholesale adjective adverb (SELLING)
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Selling
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retail
verb [ T ]
us
/ˈriː.teɪl/ uk
/ˈriː.teɪl/
to sell goods to the public in stores, on the internet, etc.:
The company makes and retails moderately priced sportswear.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to sell something
  • sellAre you selling your car?
  • retailThe company makes and retails moderately priced sportswear.
  • deal inThey mainly deal in rare books.
  • divestUS The investors divested themselves of the company's stock.
  • sell offThe company is selling off the less profitable parts of its business.
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retail at/for something
to be sold at a particular price:
This laptop retails at $850.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Selling
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retail
adverb
us
/ˈriː.teɪl/ uk
/ˈriː.teɪl/
sold in stores, on the internet, etc.:
It's much cheaper to buy wholesale than retail.
The restaurant had very good ice cream - it was even sold retail for a while.
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Selling
See more results »
(Definition of retail from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

retail | Intermediate English

retail
noun [ U ]
us
/ˈri·teɪl/
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the activity of selling goods to the public, usually in small amounts, for their own use
retail
verb [ I/T ]
us
/ˈri·teɪl/
to sell goods to the public, usually in small amounts, for their own use:
[ T ] Country Miss makes and retails sportswear.
[ I ] The software retails for $69.

retailer

noun [ C ] us
/ˈri·teɪ·lər/
If you bought it there, you can’t take it back to another retailer.
(Definition of retail from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

retail | Business English

retail
noun [ U ]
  COMMERCE
uk
/ˈriːteɪl/ us
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the activity of selling goods to the public in stores, on the internet, etc., rather than selling to stores, other businesses, etc.:
She has worked in retail her entire adult life.
Organic food is one of the largest growth areas in food in the UK in retail.
Food retail is extremely competitive.
a retail chain/outlet/store
a store or group of stores that sells goods to the public:
They operate the largest toy retail chain in the country.
the retail market/sector/trade
the business activity of selling goods through stores to the public, or the companies involved in this:
The company is now the UK's eighth-largest motor insurer in the retail market.
a retail buyer/consumer/customer
a person who buys goods, rather than a store or other business:
Both companies are trying to attract retail customers.

Compare

wholesale adjective
retail
adjective
  COMMERCE
uk
/ˈriːteɪl/ us
connected with the activity of selling goods to the public, rather than selling to stores, etc.:
retail demand/operations/profits
The company needs to focus on its core retail business.
Compare
wholesale adjective
retail
verb
  COMMERCE
uk
/ˈriːteɪl/ us
[ T ]
to sell goods to the public in stores, on the internet, etc.:
They have a proven record in retailing clothes and shoes.
retail at/for sth
[ I ]
to be sold at a particular price:
The parts cost $3 to $5 per watch, while the finished products retailed for $150 to $200.
retail
adverb
  COMMERCE
uk
/ˈriːteɪl/ us
if something is sold retail, it is sold to the public in stores, on the internet, etc., rather than to stores, other businesses, etc.:
buy/sell retail It's much cheaper to buy wholesale than retail.
Compare
wholesale adverb
(Definition of retail from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of retail

retail
Hoover, who is working in retail to save money for grad school, found that out the hard way.
From NOLA.com
The 8-core reviewed here goes for about $1950 retail.
From Ars Technica
It's part of a mixed-use development, which includes modest apartments and other retail shops.
From NPR
The retail price will be $149 for the men's shorts and $169 for the women's capris.
From TechCrunch
We don't want retail investors to have trust into the system.
From The Atlantic
And retail is one of the industries where it is used most prevalently.
From New York Daily News
This is direct competition for the retail banking sector.
From Huffington Post
Their value has increased since you bought them at retail.
From OregonLive.com
Among the sectors where demand for top talent is on the rise is retailing.
From CBS News
Sometime in 2016, a full retail market will be in place.
From Los Angeles Times
Insurance sales, restaurants, retail -- they are all hiring.
From ABC News
Unlike stock or futures brokerages, retail foreign-exchange firms don't have to keep customer and firm money segregated in separate accounts.
From Bloomberg
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of retail?
 
C1

Translations of retail

in Chinese (Traditional)
零售，零賣…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
零售，零卖…
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in Spanish
venta al por menor, venta al detalle, vender al por menor…
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in Portuguese
varejo, venda a retalho, vender no varejo…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Turkish
in French
in Japanese
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
किरकोळ विक्री…
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perakende satış, perakende satmak, perakende…
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vente [feminine] au détail, vendre au détail, au/de détail…
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小売店（こうり）…
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in het klein verkopen, kleinhandels-, detailhandel…
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பொதுவாக கடைகளில் பொதுமக்களுக்கு பொருட்களை விற்பனை செய்யும் செயல்பாடு…
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(ग्राहकों के लिए दुकानों में की जाने वाली) खुदरा बिक्री…
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છૂટક વેચાણ…
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sælge, detail-, detailsalg…
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sälja [i minut], detalj[pris], detaljhandel…
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runcit, jualan runcit, peruncitan…
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im Einzelhandel verkaufen, Einzelhandels-…, der Einzelhandel…
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varehandel [masculine], selge (til forbrukerne), detalj-…
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خوردہ فروشی…
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продавати(ся) вроздріб, роздрібний, роздрібна торгівля…
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розничная торговля…
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సాధారణంగా దుకాణాలలో ప్రజలకు వస్తువులను అమ్మే పని…
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খুচরো ব্যবসা…
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prodávat v malém, maloobchodní, maloobchod…
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menjual eceran, eceran, ritel…
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ขายปลีก, เกี่ยวกับการขายปลีก, การขายปลีก…
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bán lẻ, thuộc bán lẻ, ngành bán lẻ…
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handel detaliczny, sprzedawać detalicznie, detaliczny…
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