Definition

Noun: 1. A warehouse or storage facility for goods: A place where merchandise is stored, often before distribution or re-export. 2. A trading port or commercial center: A port or city where goods are imported, stored, and then re-exported, often benefiting from special customs regulations like duty-free status.

Usage Examples

• As a warehouse:
  • The old factory now serves as an entrepot for imported textiles.
  • Goods were held in the coastal entrepot before being shipped inland.
• As a trading center:
  • Singapore grew from a small port into a major global entrepot.
  • Historically, the city functioned as a vital entrepot for the spice trade.

Advanced Usage

• Economic Role: The term often implies a strategic commercial hub that facilitates international trade and transshipment.
  • The country's economy thrives on its role as a regional entrepot.

Variants and Related Words

• Depot (n): A location for the storage of goods or vehicles; often used for military supplies or transportation hubs (e.g., bus depot).
• Emporium (n): A large retail store selling a wide variety of goods; can also refer to a center of commerce (archaic/formal).

Synonyms

• Warehouse: A large building for storing goods.
• Storehouse: A building used for storage.
• Depository: A place where something is deposited for storage or safekeeping.
• Trading post: A place established for bartering and trading, often in a remote area.
• Transshipment center: A hub where cargo is transferred from one carrier to another.

Related Phrases

• Free port: A port area where goods can be landed, stored, and shipped without payment of customs duties.
• Commercial hub: A central point for business and trade activities.

Noun

1. a depository for goods
   • storehouses were built close to the docks
2. a port where merchandise can be imported and then exported without paying import duties
   • Bahrain has been an entrepot of trade between Arabia and India since the second millennium BC