Ames was an American chain of discount department stores based in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA. The company was founded in 1958 with a store in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and at its peak operated 700 stores in 20 states, including the Northeast, Upper South, Midwest and the District of Columbia, making it the fourth largest discount retailer in America.

Despite its successes in its later years Ames was plagued by debt and a slow decline in sales, which resulted in two bankruptcy filings and ultimately put an end to the chain as the company, despite expanding into other markets and taking over many stores that had been abandoned by competitors that had closed, went out of business in 2002.