shop around
English
editVerb
editshop around (third-person singular simple present shops around, present participle shopping around, simple past and past participle shopped around)
- (intransitive) To actively search and compare options before making a selection or choice of vendor.
- He's gone to shop around for a new car.
- (intransitive) To actively make a search for an alternative choice of something one has, owns, or wants, without it necessarily involving buying or selling anything.
- She's shopping around for a new boyfriend.
- 1960, Smokey Robinson (lyrics and music), “Shop Around”, performed by The Miracles:
- Before you ask some girl for her hand now / Keep your freedom for as long as you can now / My mama told me, you better shop around.
- 1973, Willie Hutch (lyrics and music), “I Choose You”:
- Girl no longer do I / Have to shop around any more, no no no / I've found that once in a lifetime / Girl that I've been searching for
- 1980 August 2, Mitzel, “Kopacz Indicted On Murder One”, in Gay Community News, page 6:
- Federal courts look very disapprovingly on local D.A.s shopping around from grand jury to grand jury to et the indictments they want.
- (transitive) To put something out on offer to multiple parties in the hope one will choose it.
- He's shopping around his book to several studios. He hopes to get a movie deal.
- 1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 119:
- A demo of the Cascades doing "I Wish That We Were Married" was taped and shopped around to various labels.