Big Box Store 

A large department store modeling the architectural design of a warehouse. These are usually built in the suburbs where land is much cheaper than downtown.

So named because they resemble shipping giant boxes plopped in the middle of a sea of parking.

Big Lots, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City (RIP), and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The King of Big Box Stores: Walmart.

Big Box Store by Gunnar Olson June 8, 2010

Big Box Store 

A large store (superstore) run by a major corporation.

No one knows where the term came from (Because the store's goods are shipped in big boxes? Because the store looks like a big box?) As a result, anyone using the term should be slapped with a large trout for using a phrase which they themselves don't really understand.

In today's financial news, big box store Target is increasing its competition against big box store WalMart. Ow, that trout hurt!

Big Box Store by ZOC December 9, 2008

big box store 

A chain of physically large stores.

Walmart, Kmart, Circuit City are all big box stores.

big box store by Ginsella March 15, 2009

Big-box store 

Large, high-volume stores. I.e., Circuit City, IKEA, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, etc.

The new shopping center outside of town has acres and acres of big-box stores.

Big-box store by Tailspin October 18, 2003

Big-box store 

A Big-Box Store is a large, free standing rectangular single floor store built on a concrete slab. They are incredibly wasteful and ugly to look at having no aesthetic value what so ever. Typically have very large parking lots with no trees.

Also sometimes called a superstore, megastore, or supercenter.

Walmart is a good example of a big-box store.

Big-box store by OneBadAsp October 28, 2006

Big-box store 

Refers to warehouse stores, not because they are in big box-shaped buildings, but because the merchandise comes in big, bulk boxes for stocking items in quantity rather than individual portions. Costco, BJ's, Sam's Club, are big-box stores. Walmart and Target are not.

People who use this term to refer simply to big stores are clueless. Almost all stores are in big rectangular buildings. This is not what the phrase means.

"Save by stocking up at a big-box store."

Big-box store by Chazzmatazz August 2, 2016