# mall

Pronunciation: say "MAWL" /mɔːl/

## Noun

1. A large enclosed building containing many shops, restaurants, and walkways under one roof.
   - Simple: A large building with many shops, places to eat, and walkways inside.
   - _The mall fills with shoppers every weekend before the holidays._
   - _Several malls in the region closed after online shopping took hold._
2. A street closed to traffic and given over to pedestrians, especially one lined with shops; a shopping precinct. *(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US)*
   - Simple: A street with no cars, lined with shops where people walk from store to store.
   - _The city converted four downtown blocks into a brick-paved mall lined with cafes and boutiques._
   - _Cars are banned from the mall, leaving the whole street to pedestrians and street performers._
3. A level, shaded public walk or promenade where people stroll for pleasure.
   - Simple: A flat, shady path in a park or public place where people go to walk.
   - _Couples strolled along the shaded mall as the band played in the distance._
   - _The park's central mall offered a cool, level path beneath rows of old elms._
6. A heavy wooden mallet or hammer used to strike the ball in the game of pall mall.
   - Simple: A heavy wooden hammer used to hit the ball in an old ball game.
   - _She lifted the mall over her shoulder and drove the ball down the alley._
   - _Each player carried a long-handled mall carved from solid wood._

## Verb

4. To go shopping at a mall, especially as a leisure activity. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To go shopping at a shopping center, usually for fun.
   - _They spent the day malling, drifting from store to store with no real plan._
   - _On rainy Saturdays the whole family would mall until closing time._
5. To develop an area by building shopping malls across it.
   - Simple: To fill an area with shopping centers as it gets built up.
   - _Critics worry that planners will mall every open space near the highway._
   - _The suburb was rapidly malled during the 1980s building boom._
7. To strike something with a mallet or other heavy object; to beat or bruise it.
   - Simple: To hit something hard with a heavy hammer or club, often leaving a bruise.
   - _He malled the old door until the rusted lock finally gave way._
   - _Workers mall the metal flat before shaping it into panels._

## Noun

8. An old game in which players drove balls along an alley using mallets; also known as pall mall. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old game played by hitting balls along a lane with wooden mallets.
   - _The gentlemen wagered heavily on a match of mall behind the inn._
   - _She watched her brothers play mall until the light faded._
9. A long alley laid out and prepared for playing the game of pall mall. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A long, narrow lane where people played an old ball game.
   - _The king ordered a new mall laid out in the park for the afternoon's sport._
   - _Spectators lined the mall as the ball rolled toward the far ring._
10. The game of polo, in which mounted players use long mallets to drive a ball toward goals. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The game of polo, played on horseback with mallets and a ball.

## Origin

The word probably comes from The Mall, a major street in London, England, which was originally an alley used for the game of pall mall.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mall (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).