Definition

Noun (plural): 1. Personal items conforming to regulations that are sold aboard a ship or at a naval base and charged to the person's pay: This term refers to a specific category of goods, such as toiletries, tobacco, or snacks, that are sold to sailors or naval personnel. These items are considered personal necessities and are deducted directly from the individual's salary.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The sailors lined up at the ship's canteen to buy small stores like soap and chocolate.
  • The cost of cigarettes from the small stores was automatically deducted from his monthly pay.

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in a nautical or naval context. It refers to an official, regulated system of retail for personnel.
• It implies a controlled supply of goods, distinguishing it from a general store or shop on land.

Variants and Related Words

• Ships stores (noun): A broader term that can include all provisions and supplies for a ship, not just personal items for the crew.
• PX (Post Exchange) / NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) (noun): Similar concepts for selling goods to military personnel, but used in different armed forces (PX is common in the U.S. military, NAAFI in the British).

Synonyms

• Sundries: Miscellaneous small items, especially for personal use. (Note: "Sundries" is a more general term not specific to naval contexts.)
• Personal provisions: Supplies for personal needs.

Notes on Meaning

• The term "small stores" is a fixed plural noun. It does not refer literally to retail shops of a small size.
• Its meaning is highly specific to institutional settings like ships and naval bases, involving a direct pay deduction system.

Noun

1. personal items conforming to regulations that are sold aboard ship or at a naval base and charged to the person's pay