store

Pluralstores

Formsstores, storing, stored

1. 1
   shopnounNorth Americancountable

   A place of business where goods are sold to the public.

   She runs a small store that sells handmade jewelry.

   Several stores in the mall closed during the recession.

   UsageYou buy things at the store. Outside North America, shop is the more usual word.

   Similarshop, outlet, boutique, retailer

   Note

   Milk comes from the grocery store, and Stephen Crane's 1899 town has pumpkins 'a-sittin' in front of his store'. Carey McWilliams, in North from Mexico, finds hoop skirts 'on sale in the stores' of Santa Fe. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The Stephen Crane story containing this passage was published in 1899. en.wiktionary.org
   • Crane's story describes pumpkins with the quoted wording; Ben Roddle is the fictional speaker. en.wikisource.org
   • McWilliams describes hoop skirts being sold in Santa Fe using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   put awayverbtransitive

   To keep something in a particular place while it is not being used.

   Farmers store grain in large silos to protect it from moisture.

   He stored the documents in a fireproof safe.

   UsageOften with in or away: store it in the attic, store things away.

   Similarkeep, stow, house, stash, stockpile

   Note

   Ordinary putting-away, with a specialist life in the rail press. Writing in RAIL in 2024, Chris Gilson reports a locomotive 'stored at Eastleigh': kept aside and out of service rather than boxed up. Margery Allingham's carpet that 'had evidently been stored' shows the household version. The object is the thing kept; compare the 'stock' meaning, where it is the container. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Chris Gilson's 2024 article in RAIL reports a locomotive being stored at Eastleigh. en.wiktionary.org
   • Margery Allingham describes a carpet with the exact words 'had evidently been stored'. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   save (computers)verbtransitive

   To write information into a computer's memory or registers.

   The program stores each result in a temporary variable.

   Computers store data as patterns of ones and zeros.

   UsageData is stored in memory or a variable, and on a disk, phone or server.

   Similarsave, write, record, hold, keep

   Note

   In machine terms, storing is writing. A value is written to a memory location, a register or the stack, as in 'this operation stores the result on the stack'. Later instructions can then retrieve the stored value. The place it lands once had a noun of its own: the dated word for memory.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A supply or quantity of something, often a large one, especially one kept for future use.

   The squirrel built up a large store of nuts before winter.

   Hospitals keep stores of blood ready for emergencies.

   UsageUsually a store of something: a store of nuts, a store of knowledge.

   Similarsupply, stock, stockpile, reserve, hoard

   Note

   Here the stress falls on holding something back for later. Orwell's farm animals gather 'a sufficient store of stone' before building begins. The same construction stretches easily to qualities: Joyce writes of 'an infinite store of mercy', and Carolly Erickson of a 'constant store of good humor'. The word can also mean simply a great quantity, but it usually implies a reserve to draw on, not mere plenty. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Orwell's animals accumulate 'a sufficient store of stone' before construction begins. gutenberg.net.au
   • Joyce writes 'an infinite store of mercy'. en.wikisource.org
   • The quotation attributed to Erickson's The Last Wife of Henry VIII reads 'constant store of good humor', without 'a'. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   verbtransitive

   To hold or contain something within, or to have the capacity to hold it.

   Plant cells store sugars produced during photosynthesis.

   The reservoir stores water for the entire city.

   Similarhold, contain, keep, retain

   Oppositerelease, discharge

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