Definition

Proper noun 1. A person (Aaron Montgomery Ward): The founder of a major American retail and mail-order company. He is historically significant for pioneering the direct-to-consumer mail-order model in the United States. 2. A company: The name of the retail and mail-order business founded by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872. It became one of the largest and most influential retailers in American history.

Usage Examples

• As a person:
  • The business strategy of Montgomery Ward revolutionized how rural Americans shopped.
  • The biography details how Montgomery Ward built his retail empire.
• As a company:
  • My grandmother ordered her first washing machine from the Montgomery Ward catalog.
  • The Montgomery Ward building was a landmark in the city for decades.

Advanced Usage

• The name is often used historically to refer to the era of catalog-based shopping that preceded modern e-commerce.
• It can be used metonymically to represent traditional, catalog-driven American retail.
  • Before the internet, the Montgomery Ward catalog was the Amazon of its day.

Variants and Related Words

• Wards (informal): A common shortened, colloquial reference to the company or its stores.
  • We used to buy our school clothes at Wards.

Synonyms

• For the person: Aaron Montgomery Ward, retail pioneer, catalog founder.
• For the company: retailer, mail-order house, catalog merchant.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• (As) reliable as a Montgomery Ward guarantee: Refers to the company's famous satisfaction guarantee policy, symbolizing trustworthiness. (This phrase is now largely historical.)
  • His word is as reliable as a Montgomery Ward guarantee.

Noun

1. United States businessman who in 1872 established a successful mail-order business (1843-1913)