retail

Syllables: re·tail/ˈɹiˌteɪl/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

retail noun: the sale of goods directly to the consumer, encompassing the storefronts, mail-order, websites, etc., and the corporate mechanisms, branding, advertising, etc. that support them.

Noun

retail (uncountable)

The sale of goods directly to the consumer, encompassing the storefronts, mail-order, websites, etc., and the corporate mechanisms, branding, advertising, etc. that support them.
- She works in retail.
The sale of securities or other financial instruments to private investors, as opposed to large institutions.
- Mr. Musk reserved a double-digit percentage of the I.P.O. shares for “retail,” or ordinary, investors — as opposed to big institutions.2026 June 13, Jeff Sommer, “Mega I.P.O. Frenzy Could Be a Harbinger of a Stock Bubble”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
(colloquial) Retail price; full price; an abbreviated expression, meaning the full suggested price of a particular good or service, before any sale, discount, or other deal.
- I never pay retail for clothes.

Adjective

retail (not comparable)

Of or relating to the (actual or figurative) sale of goods or services directly to individuals.
- "This is a very retail approach for us," Czerw said. "But when you buy one out of every six home loans in the US, you are going to have a constant flow ..."1997 December 28, “Freddie Mac establishes existing-home sales division”, in Deseret News
- The future for Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn., also looks very retail. Plans call for $156 million to expand the main terminal,1999 December 12, Naedine Joy Hazell, “TRAVEL INSIDER; Airport Malls Redefine 'Shopping on the Fly'”, in Los Angeles Times

Adverb

retail

Direct to consumers, in retail quantities, or at retail prices.
- We've shut shown our reseller unit. We're only selling retail now.

Verb

retail (third-person singular simple present retails, present participle retailing, simple past and past participle retailed)

To sell at retail, or in small quantities directly to customers.
- a half part of this purveying is carried on within the city and is called retailing.2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 223d
(archaic) To sell secondhand, or in broken parts.
To repeat or circulate (news or rumours) to others.
- He retailed to them the curious interchange of phrases he had overheard on the journey from Aleppo.1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 12, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 157
- He became quite pale as he retailed these stories to Constance.1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 762

retail meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

retail in Hindi

relating to the sale of goods or services directly to individual consumers: फुटकर phuṭkar

retail in Tamil

சில்லறை விற்பனை, சில்லறை வாணிகம், விற்பனை வகையில் சில்லறையான

retail in Urdu

خوردہ

retail in Bengali

খুচরা বিক্রয়, খুচরা, খুচরা বিক্রয়ের, খুচরা বিক্রয় করা, বিশদভাবে বর্ণনা করা

More languagesFewer languages

retail in Telugu: చిల్లర cillara
retail in Malayalam: ചില്ലറക്കച്ചവടം ചെയ്യുക, ചില്ലറ വിറ്റഴിയുക, സവിസ്താരം കഥിക്കുക
retail in Kannada: ಚಿಲ್ಲರೆ ಹರದಿಕೆ, ಬಿಡಿ ಹರದಿಕೆ, ಚಿಲ್ಲರೆ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ, ಬಿಡಿ ಮಾರಾಟ
retail in Punjabi: ਪ੍ਰਚੂਨ, ਪ੍ਰਚੂਨ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
retail in Odia: ଖୁଚୁରା
retail in Nepali: खुद्रा, खुद्रा गर्न
retail in Tagalog: tingi, pagtitingi, tingian, magtingi
retail in Malay: runcit
retail in Indonesian: eceran, ecer, mengecer
retail in Vietnamese: bán lẻ

Examples of retail in a sentence

But even with her level of celebrity, it would be very hard to win a race without engaging voters in a very retail way.2010 September 17, “Sarah Palin's visit to Iowa keeps fans guessing”, in Des Moines Register:
The fantasies of blood libel that Bosnian Serbs retailed about Bosnian Muslims were the fantasies that Rhinelanders had centuries earlier retailed about the Jews they had murdered.1998 February 1, Alan Ryan, “Hot Spots (review of The Warrior's Honor: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience by Michael Ignatieff)”, in The...

All 40 example sentences with retail

Antonyms of retail

wholesale

Forms of retail

third-person singular present	retails
present participle	retailing
past participle	retailed
past	retailed

Origin of retail

From the Old French verb retaillier.

Words formed from retail

Phrases with retail

Words that rhyme with retail

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about retail

What does retail mean?: Retail means the sale of goods directly to the consumer, encompassing the storefronts, mail-order, websites, etc., and the corporate mechanisms, branding, advertising, etc. that support them.
What is retail in Hindi?: Retail in Hindi is फुटकर (phuṭkar). See Retail meaning in Hindi.
How do you use retail in a sentence?: But even with her level of celebrity, it would be very hard to win a race without engaging voters in a very retail way.
What part of speech is retail?: Retail can be a noun, an adjective, an adverb or a verb.
How do you pronounce retail?: Retail is pronounced /ˈɹiˌteɪl/ (US).

Words near retail in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: retail (page history and authors); retail (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retail (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retail (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retail (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retail (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retail (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); retail (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); retail (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “retail.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retail. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.