shop around

English

shop 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.