"thrift shop" means: A shop which sells mainly used goods (especially clothes) at low prices.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
thrift shop
(North America) A shop which sells mainly used goods (especially clothes) at low prices.
Seen in the wild
I programmed my AI to self-desruct if i type in the first verse of Thrift Shop by Macklemore, as a joke.
I typically look out for vintage plushies when I go to the thrift shop, but I certainly can't pass up a nearly mint 40 year old deck of Uno cards.
It's so funny to me, how you can just randomly find Princess Diana beanie babies at the thrift shop. These things were $500 a pop in their heyday.
24- what was your first game console? an Atari 2600 that my folks got from a thrift shop
What items do you think are a waste of money at charity shops, despite the price? Let's talk thrift shop finds! #CharityShopFinds https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/shopping/items-you-should-never-buy-10950583
Definitions
(North America) A shop which sells mainly used goods (especially clothes) at low prices.
Some thrift shops, glutted with flimsy, synthetic wares, have stopped accepting fast-fashion donations.
"thrift shop" means: A shop which sells mainly used goods (especially clothes) at low prices.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"thrift shop" means: A shop which sells mainly used goods (especially clothes) at low prices.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
“I programmed my AI to self-desruct if i type in the first verse of Thrift Shop by Macklemore, as a joke.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I typically look out for vintage plushies when I go to the thrift shop, but I certainly can't pass up a nearly mint 40 year old deck of Uno cards.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“It's so funny to me, how you can just randomly find Princess Diana beanie babies at the thrift shop. These things were $500 a pop in their heyday.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“24- what was your first game console? an Atari 2600 that my folks got from a thrift shop”
— Bluesky· May 2026“What items do you think are a waste of money at charity shops, despite the price? Let's talk thrift shop finds! #CharityShopFinds https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/shopping/items-you-should-never-buy-10950583”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "thrift shop".
⚡About Tech, Dev & AI slang
The vocabulary of software engineers, AI researchers, and anyone living in a terminal or on GitHub — from LLM to MCP, CORS to vibe coding, agentic to enshittification.
See all Tech, Dev & AI slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "thrift shop" (T)
Browse all slang words starting with T.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- consignment shop72%
(US, Canada) A shop that sells used goods for their owners (consigners) in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.
- op shop70%
(Australia, New Zealand) A shop, usually operated by a charity, to which new or used goods are donated, for sale at a low price.
- charity shop66%
(UK) A retail establishment run by a charitable organization in order to raise funds for its causes.
- rag-and-bone shop63%
(British) A dealership selling cheap unwanted second-hand goods, or bric-a-brac, that have been collected for nothing as disposable items.
- auto shop62%
(US, Canada) A shop that deals in the repair of automobiles.