Definition

Noun: A retail establishment that sells a wide variety of tools, materials, and equipment for home improvement, construction, and maintenance. This typically includes items such as nails, screws, hand tools, power tools, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, paint, and gardening equipment.

Usage

A "hardware store" is a specific type of shop. You go there to buy practical items for fixing, building, or maintaining things. - You can say: "I need to go to the hardware store to buy a new hammer." - It is often used with articles: "a hardware store", "the hardware store", or "the local hardware store".

Examples

• "We bought the paint for the living room at a hardware store downtown."
• "Can you stop by the hardware store on your way home? We need light bulbs."
• "That small hardware store has a surprisingly good selection of gardening tools."

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used generically or as part of a proper name for a specific chain or local shop (e.g., "I'm going to Ace Hardware").
• In British English, a traditional term for a hardware store is "ironmonger's" or "ironmonger's shop".

Variants and Related Words

• Ironmonger's (shop) (noun, chiefly British): A traditional term for a hardware store.
• Home improvement center (noun): A large retail store similar to a hardware store, often with a broader selection of building materials and larger appliances. (e.g., Home Depot, Lowe's).

Synonyms

• Ironmonger's (chiefly British)
• Home improvement store (for larger outlets)

Related Phrases

• To run a hardware store: To own and operate this type of business.
  • "His family has run a hardware store in this town for three generations."

Noun

1. a store selling hardware
   • in Great Britain they used to call a hardware store an ironmonger's shop