deli
Americannoun
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delis
plural
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a delicatessen.
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food typically sold at a delicatessen, as cold cuts, salads, and pickles.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of deli
First recorded in 1950–55; by shortening
Explanation
A deli is a market where you can buy prepared food or shop for staples including meat and cheese. You might have a favorite neighborhood deli where you go every morning for a bagel and coffee. The word deli is a shortened form, or common nickname, of delicatessen, an American English version of the German delikatessen, the plural of delikatesse, "delicacy," or "fine food." Many delis specialize in the food of a certain region, country, or ethnicity — like a Jewish deli, a German deli, or a Greek deli. You can usually buy sandwiches, salads, drinks, and specialty foods at delis.
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:
Instead, it’s a double-decker sandwich with two deli meats, Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing, all layered intricately between slices of thin rye bread.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Sat Bains ran a breakfast pop-up on Sunday at a small deli in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, to support local businesses during a difficult time for the hospitality industry nationally.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
And he added that the company operates in an industry niche — prepared deli food — that has a combined $40 billion in U.S. sales.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
From there, it’s classic Green Goddess by way of the supermarket deli.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
She offered to go out, to buy something from the deli, but Rohin said he wasn’t very hungry, and accepted one of the rice cakes.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Meanwhile, two delis near her childhood home in Chappaqua, N.Y., have added Caesar wraps to their menus in her honor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
But Ottolenghi, who has 11 restaurants, cafes and delis, described the situation was "crippling" - not just for his own business, but for others running bakeries, cafes, and pubs.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
The company changed its name to Restaurant Depot in the 1990s and started serving more food operators across the U.S. including caterers, pizzerias and delis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
DNA testing further revealed that while the meat came from different grocery store delis, the bacteria that made consumers sick were genetically similar.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2024
Now I get mocked by these groceries, pizza places, ice-cream stores, delis, Chinese places, bakeries, sushi joints, McDonald’ses.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
