shop around
"shop-around" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shop around” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To actively search and compare options before making a selection or choice of vendor.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shop-around · shop around · English
shop around · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shop around |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “shop around” in English
Rare enough to double-check
shop around is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for shop around, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is shop around, spelled S-H-O-P- -A-R-O-U-N-D.
Definition
- 1To actively search and compare options before making a selection or choice of vendor.
- 2To actively make a search for an alternative choice of something one has, owns, or wants, without it necessarily involving buying or selling anything.
- 3To put something out on offer to multiple parties in the hope one will choose it.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how shop around appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He's gone to shop around for a new car.
She's shopping around for a new boyfriend.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.