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strip mall

strip mall

20 3.0
A row of stores and restaurants with a parking lot in front along a busy road
  • noun
  • /strɪp mɔl/
  • US
translation icon : parque comercial (EE. UU.)
  • The strip mall across the street features a grocery store, a coffee shop, and a bakery.

We walked across the street to the strip mall where the restaurant was.

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Examples

  • We walked across the street to the strip mall where the restaurant was.

  • A U.S. Mail carrier's truck pulls into the parking lot of a strip mall.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • It's in the parking lot behind the strip mall.

  • See that strip mall down there?

  • The interview dinner was at a restaurant in a strip mall outside of town.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The grand opening of a small strip mall marked noticeable progress in town.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The McDonald's stood in the middle of a suburban strip mall parking lot.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Sharon and Robby are rolling to a stop in a strip mall parking lot, exiting their car.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Everywhere she drove, she looked in the parking lots of roadhouses, cafes, and strip malls.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • There's a grocery store and strip mall where the bus stops at the corner of El Camino and La Costa.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

mall
vsstrip mall
  • US
545 1.0

A large indoor building with many shops and places to eat

is instead a roadside linear row with parking directly outside
plaza
vsstrip mall
  • US
81 3.5

A group of shops and restaurants with parking and outdoor space

is simpler being a roadside line of shops with front parking
shopping mall
vsstrip mall
  • US
62 1.0

A large building or outdoor area with many shops and restaurants

is a single row of shops with parking directly in front
shopping center
vsstrip mall
  • US
38 1.6

A large building with many shops and places to eat

is arranged as a roadside row with parking facing the stores
galleria
vsstrip mall
1 5.2

A large covered space with shops and restaurants and often a glass roof

is plain consisting of a single open row with parking in front

How Big

shopping center
  • US
38 1.6
strip mall
  • US
20 3.0
specialty store
  • US
6 2.8
shopfront
  • UK
1 2.5

Surface Forms

strip mall singular
strip malls plural

Morphology

strip + mall

The meaning 'a row of stores with parking in front' is directly and compositionally derived from 'strip' (a long, narrow piece of land) + 'mall' (a shopping center): together they denote a narrow shopping area along a road. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common compound pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Strip mall comes from two simple images: a long, narrow strip of shops and mall, a 'shopping area'. That's why it means 'a row of stores with a parking lot in front along a road'.