retail

retail — noun

1. the business of selling goods directly to individual customers, rather than to o

1.nounB1
Definition

the business of selling goods directly to individual customers, rather than to other businesses — typically from shops, market stalls, or online platforms

Example

Devika found a winter coat on a new retail website and ordered it in her size.

online retail — shopping via a website

Beatrix found a job in retail after finishing her business degree.

work in retail — job in the sector

Common collocations
  • online retail
  • retail sector
  • retail industry
  • retail business
  • retail sales
  • retail trade
  • retail price
  • retail outlet
Synonyms
  • commerce

    broader — includes both wholesale and retail trade

  • selling

    more general, less formal; not limited to a specific sector

  • trade

    broader in scope, can cover any exchange of goods

Antonyms
  • wholesale

    sale of goods in bulk to businesses rather than to individual customers

Grammar Patterns

retail + is/represents/accounts for

Usage Note

Retail as a noun is uncountable — you cannot say 'a retail' or 'retails'. Refer to 'a retail store', 'a retail business', or 'the retail sector' instead.

Common Mistakes

I work in a retail.
I work in retail.
'retail' is an uncountable noun, so no article is needed.
Retails are growing fast.
Retail is growing fast.
use the singular verb form.

retail — verb

retail — adverb

retail — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Retail', 'commerce', 'trade', and 'selling' all relate to the exchange of goods, but they differ in scope and focus. 'Retail' is the narrowest — it refers specifically to selling goods directly to individual consumers, whether in shops, online, or at markets. 'Commerce' is the broadest, covering all activities involved in the buying and selling of goods and services on a large scale, including finance, logistics, and regulation. 'Trade' sits between them and can refer to exchange at any level — local, national, or international — and includes both wholesale and retail. 'Selling' is the most informal and general, describing any act of persuading a customer to buy something. For example, a newsagent is in retail; a shipping company facilitates commerce; an export-import firm engages in trade; and a child selling lemonade is simply selling.

retail ↗commerce ↗trade ↗selling

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • retail and wholesale
  • retail vs wholesale
  • online retail
  • brick-and-mortar retail
  • retail price index

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Retail' comes from the Old French verb 'retaillier', meaning 'to cut off, trim, or divide into pieces'. It was formed from 're-' (again) and 'taillier' (to cut). In medieval markets, merchants would buy goods in bulk and then 'cut them up' — that is, divide them into smaller portions — to sell to individual customers. By the 15th century, the word had taken on its modern commercial meaning of selling small quantities directly to the public.