shopping

Etymology

verb

1. present participle and gerund of shop

noun

1. The process of buying goods or services, or searching for those suitable to buy.
   On Saturdays we usually do the shopping.
   Here I began my shopping, was interviewed by dressmakers, and naturally had much to do to habit myself for civilized life again. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 132
   Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres. 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
2. Recently bought goods.
   I carried three heavy bags of shopping up the stairs.
3. An area's combination of stores and other infrastructure and products available for people who want to shop.
   Boston has good shopping.
4. Placement in a workshop for overhaul.
   The five roller-bearing A1s are now averaging 120,000 miles between shopping; this figure is an improvement of about 50 per cent on the norm of other ex-L.N.E. Pacific types. 1961 November, “Talking of Trains: The roller-bearing A1s”, in Trains Illustrated, page 643