mall

noun

ˈmȯl How to pronounce mall (audio)
especially British and for sense 1 ˈmal
Synonyms of mallnext
1
: an alley used for pall-mall
2
[The Mall, promenade in London, originally a pall-mall alley]
a
: a usually public area often set with shade trees and designed as a promenade or as a pedestrian walk
b
: a usually paved or grassy strip between two roadways
3
a
: an urban shopping area featuring a variety of shops surrounding a usually open-air concourse reserved for pedestrian traffic
b
: a usually large suburban building or group of buildings containing various shops with associated passageways

Synonyms of mall

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Examples of mall in a Sentence

They spent the afternoon shopping at the mall. the pedestrian traffic through the grassy mall is heaviest during the summer lunch hours
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The answer to both questions came this past weekend, when crowds gathered for Riyadh Season’s opener at Boulevard City, a car-free district in the capital that’s part open-air mall, part amusement park and part entertainment venue. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026 Home values near Cheesecake Factory restaurants were about 27% higher than in areas in the same region with similar population density, partly because many of them are located in upscale malls, The Washington Sun found. — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026 In addition, a lot of department stores are in malls, and as millennials and Gen Z are doing more online shopping or buying second-hand, most malls are seeing declining foot traffic. — Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 28 Oct. 2026 The upshot is there is now a critical mass of consumers eager to send their agents to the digital mall. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mall

Word History

Etymology

short for obsolete pall-mall mallet used in pall-mall

First Known Use

circa 1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mall was circa 1660

Phrases Containing mall

Rhymes for mall

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Browse Nearby Words

Malkite
mall
malladrite
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Cite this Entry

“Mall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mall. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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Kids Definition

mall

noun
ˈmȯl How to pronounce mall (audio)
1
: a shaded walk : promenade
2
: a usually paved or grassy strip between two roadways
3
a
: a group of stores and often restaurants arranged about an often covered way for pedestrians
b
: a usually large suburban building or group of buildings containing shops and often restaurants with connecting passageways
Etymology

a shortened form of pall-mall "a game similar to croquet formerly played in England," literally "ball-mallet"

Word Origin
In Italy in the 1500s a popular alley game similar to croquet was known as pallamaglio, from palla "ball," and maglio "mallet." The game (and word) was adopted by the French as pallemalle and in the 1600s by the English as pall-mall. The alley on which the game was played came to be known as a mall. One of the best known of these alleys, covered with sand and crushed shells, was located in London's St. James Park and was known as "The Mall." After the game lost favor, the Mall at St. James, as it continued to be called, was turned into a fashionable walkway with trees and flowers. Similar open-air places came to be called malls also. In the 20th century the word was applied to other public spaces, including the shopping complexes we now know as malls.
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