shopping center

noun

: a group of retail stores and service establishments usually with ample parking facilities and usually designed to serve a community or neighborhood

called also shopping plaza

Examples of shopping center in a Sentence

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.
Businesses in a nearby shopping center reported gas leak symptoms to 911. — CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026 Organizers said the vehicles were towed from a shopping center that wasn’t an official parking site. — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026 The official directories for the other three shopping centers don’t list SpaceX or Starlink either. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026 Also according to the emergency service, consecutive Russian strikes on a shopping center in Kharkiv injured four people late on Saturday, including three rescue workers. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shopping center

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shopping center was in 1898

Rhymes for shopping center

See All Rhymes for shopping center

Browse Nearby Words

shopping cart
shopping center
shopping goods
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shopping center.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shopping%20center. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

shopping center

noun
: a group of retail stores and service establishments usually located in a suburban area and having a large parking lot
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of reticent

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All