What does emporium mean?
Word: Emporium
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Emporium means a large shop that sells many different goods, or a great deal of one kind of product.
How do you spell emporium?
Syllables: em - po - ri - um
Tricky part: It ends in ium, as stadium does; the word museum misleads many students into writing eum.
Watch out for: emporeum, emporiam, emporiem
Memory tip: A stadium, an aquarium and a busy shop of this kind all draw crowds, and all three close with ium.
Emporium in a sentence
Example 1: The toy emporium on Park Street fills three whole floors.
Example 2: Mum found brass lamps and cotton quilts at a big emporium in town.
Example 3: Tourists love the carpet emporium near the old fort.
Fun Fact
The word goes back to ancient Greek, where an emporion was a trading post at which merchants from far-off lands met to buy and sell.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Every Sunday the whole family travels to the crowded handicraft emperium near Connaught Place to choose gifts for cousins who live abroad and love handmade textiles.
a) emperium
b) textiles
c) cousins
d) handicraft
Show answer
a) emperium. An o follows the p, so the word has nothing to do with an emperor.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word emporium as used in the sentence:
The spice emporium at the end of our lane stocks saffron from Spain and pepper from Kerala.
a) studio
b) warehouse
c) factory
d) store
Show answer
d) store. Customers come here to buy, so a store is the closest word; a warehouse only keeps goods out of sight.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word.
My aunt bought a silk scarf from the ermmoiup beside the railway station.
a) emporium
b) empire
c) employer
d) emphasis
Show answer
a) emporium. A scarf is bought from a place that sells things, and the letters include a u, which only one option has.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is not. Choose what the misspelt word means.
1. mediocre 2. buoyant 3. benevolent 4. imporium
a) only average in quality
b) a place that sells a wide range of wares
c) able to float on water
d) kind and generous to other people
Show answer
b) a place that sells a wide range of wares. The word opens with an e, not an i, so imporium is the one that needs correcting.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sign would you most expect to see outside an emporium?
a) Morning Yoga Classes Held Here Daily
b) Home Tuition in Maths and Science
c) Fine Silks, Brassware and Gifts Under One Roof
d) Bicycle Repairs Done While You Wait
Show answer
c) Fine Silks, Brassware and Gifts Under One Roof
2. A visitor walks out of an emporium with a full bag. What has she most likely been doing?
a) watching a film with her friends
b) borrowing books for the holidays
c) choosing goods and paying for them
d) waiting for a delayed train
Show answer
c) choosing goods and paying for them
