supermarket
Americannoun
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a large retail market that sells food and other household goods and that is usually operated on a self-service basis.
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any business or company offering an unusually wide range of goods or services.
a financial supermarket that sells stocks, bonds, insurance, and real estate.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of supermarket
Explanation
A supermarket is a store that sells groceries and other goods. Although supermarkets are primarily places to buy food, nowadays you can find everything from shampoo to toys to bestselling novels at a large supermarket. The distinguishing characteristics of a supermarket are that it sells food and household products, and that shoppers serve themselves, often pushing grocery carts and filling them with items. Though some people think of supermarkets as being much larger than grocery stores, others use the two terms interchangeably. This American-coined word first appeared in print in the early 1930s.
Vocabulary lists containing supermarket
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a 1986 photo taken in Crazy Prices Supermarket outside of Dublin, a baby has been tossed in the seat of a well-stocked shopping cart like a consumer good.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Supermarket operator Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs and Food 4 Less, last year decided to close more than 60 stores nationwide amid labor unrest and a failed merger with Albertsons.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026
Supermarket chain Kroger is set to report third-quarter earnings on Thursday before the market opens.
From Barron's • Dec. 3, 2025
Supermarket shelves fill with "immune-boosting" shots, cold water swimming groups grow and social media becomes crowded with tips on how to fend off seasonal bugs.
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025
At Dan’s Supermarket, Mami asks me to translate into Spanish the labels of everything she sees for sale on the shelves.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
