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cash-and-carry

American  
[kash-uhn-kar-ee] / ˈkæʃ ənˈkær i /

adjective

  1. sold for cash payment and no delivery service.

  2. operated on such a basis.

    a cash-and-carry business.


cash-and-carry British  

adjective

  1. sold or operated on a basis of cash payment for merchandise that is not delivered but removed by the purchaser

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a wholesale store, esp for groceries, that operates on this basis

  2. an operation on a commodities futures market in which spot goods are purchased and sold at a profit on a futures contract

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cash-and-carry

First recorded in 1915–20

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.

See Examples For:

The deal is meant to help Sysco expand into the high-margin and growing cash-and-carry distribution model.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 30, 2026

These enablers "can't be bought in a hurry at the local cash-and-carry" as one European politician put it to me.

From BBC Mar. 4, 2025

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Hardy was credited with “rethinking the lumber business in the late 1950s with a cash-and-carry approach focused on professional contractors and builders.”

From Seattle Times Jan. 8, 2023

After much debate, in November 1939 Congress repealed provisions of earlier Neutrality Acts and authorized trade in military hardware on a cash-and-carry basis.

From Textbooks Dec. 14, 2022

In many of the cities and large towns, some credit grocers have adopted what is called the "cash-and-carry plan."

From Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 5: Fruit and Fruit Desserts; Canning and Drying; Jelly Making, Preserving and Pickling; Confections; Beverages; the Planning of Meals by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

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