In British English, a store is generally called a shop. While Americans use "store" for most retail establishments, British speakers use "shop" for almost all places selling goods, from small boutiques to local convenience stores. "Store" is usually reserved for large retail chains (e.g., department store) or storage.
Other than that, retail trading establishments for sale of goods are "shops" in British English. A "store" is a place dedicated for keeping things, not for selling them.
Experience a British Shopping Day – Story & Useful Expressions
Do people say "store" in the UK?
Note: In UK English, store refers to a large shop where many different types of goods are sold, but in US English store can mean either a large or a small place where different types of goods are sold, or only one type.
From Middle English shoppe, schoppe, from Old English sċoppa (“shed; booth; stall; shop”), from Proto-Germanic *skupp-, *skup- (“barn, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *skub-, *skup- (“to bend, bow, curve, vault”).
[countable] (especially British English) a building or part of a building where you can buy goods or services. to open/close/run a shop. There's a good selection of local shops. a record/pet shop.
an establishment where merchandise is sold, usually on a retail basis. a grocery. We need bread and milk from the store. a stall, room, floor, or building housing or suitable for housing a retail business. a supply or stock of something, especially one for future use.
Etymology. In Spanish, bodega is a term for "storeroom" or "wine cellar", or "warehouse", with a similar origin to the words "boutique" and "apothecary"; the precise meaning varies regionally in the Spanish language, and the later New York City term evolved from the Puerto Rican and Cuban usage for "small grocery".
A shop is anywhere you buy things including the supermarket. A 'store' has come in from the USA but was more likely to be a shop at a barracks etc. We've had the word store in the UK for Department stores which have different departments for different types of goods.
From Middle English shoppe, schoppe, from Old English sċoppa (“shed; booth; stall; shop”), from Proto-Germanic *skupp-, *skup- (“barn, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *skub-, *skup- (“to bend, bow, curve, vault”).
If you shop someone, you report them to the police for doing something illegal. [British, informal] His appalled family shopped him to the police. [ VERB noun + to]
😅 🔹 Definition: Hoo-ha = a lot of fuss, excitement, or discussion about something that isn't really important 🔹 How to use it: 🤷 “There was a huge hoo-ha over the new logo — it's just a colour change!” 🙈 “Why all the hoo-ha about his haircut?” 😂 “The neighbours made a hoo-ha about the bin collection again.”
