Shop and store both mean a place that sells things: in British English the usual word is shop, in American English it's store. The British use store only for big shops: a department store. Americans, on the other hand, say shop for small specialist shops, cafés and workshops: gift shop, coffee shop, repair shop.
shop or store — can you pick the right one?
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go to the shop (UK) / the store (US); department store, grocery store; coffee shop, gift shop, repair shop; shop (verb) = buy things; store + noun = keep
- I'm popping to the shop on the corner to get some bread and milk.
- We bought a new sofa at a big department store in the city centre.
- My uncle runs a small bike repair shop near the university.
What changed
First versionWe bought a new sofa at a big department shop in the city centre.
RevisionWe bought a new sofa at a big department store in the city centre.
Department store is a fixed name; nobody says department shop. If you learned British English, where the usual word is shop, it seems the natural choice. But the British also call large shops with departments a store.
As verbs, the words go even further apart: shop means to go shopping, store means to keep. We shop on Saturdays and store the vegetables in the cellar. And a store of food is a supply of food, nothing to do with shops.
Your turn
My car broke down, so I took it to a repair ___ round the corner.
Show the answer
shop — The car went to be fixed, not to buy something. A place that repairs things is a shop: a repair shop. Store is only used where goods are sold, so nobody says repair store.
Write about where you buy food. Name a shop near your home and one thing you go there for.
There's a small shop near my flat, and I go there for fresh bread every morning.
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