delicatessen

[ del-i-kuh-tes-uhn ]

See synonyms for delicatessen on Thesaurus.com

noun

a store selling foods already prepared or requiring little preparation for serving, as cooked meats, cheese, salads, and the like.
Informal. the food products sold in such a store or at a counter: We're having delicatessen for dinner.

Origin of delicatessen

1885–90, Americanism;<German, plural of Delikatesse dainty <French délicatesse

Words Nearby delicatessen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use delicatessen in a sentence

Mintz owned several kosher delicatessens in New York and had a flourishing catering business, but his observance of Jewish dietary laws would not allow him to include dairy and meat in the same dish.
David Mintz, inventor of Tofutti nondairy ice cream, dies at 89 | Matt Schudel | March 5, 2021 | Washington Post
In four years, the rest of the family joined them, and it was arranged for the parents to run a delicatessen.
Jack Steinberger, Nobel laureate in physics, dies at 99 | Martin Weil | December 17, 2020 | Washington Post
The Mill Valley Market has grown and offers a deluxe delicatessen.
Don Carpenter Was a Novelist Both Lacerating and Forgiving | Louis B. Jones | July 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They had a delicatessen first in Brooklyn, then in Queens, and they entered the country legally through Ellis Island.
A College Degree Worth the Wait | Eleanor Clift | June 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The patronage of the bakery and the delicatessen shop should also be mentioned, and the waste of money involved.
The Complete Club Book for Women | Caroline French Benton

From a delicatessen store procure dill pickles and a nice Edam cheese.
Suppers | Paul Pierce
After several blocks the window of a delicatessen store showed him she was more composed, and he again offered her his arm.
To Him That Hath | Leroy Scott
Well, theres just father and Lonny and France and I, and mostly father brings home things from the delicatessen.
Winona of the Camp Fire | Margaret Widdemer
In the distance behind him was a milk wagon, a few pedestrians, a little thinly clad girl coming out of a delicatessen store.
The "Genius" | Theodore Dreiser

British Dictionary definitions for delicatessen

delicatessen

/ (ˌdɛlɪkəˈtɛsən) /

noun

a shop selling various foods, esp unusual or imported foods, already cooked or prepared
such foods

Origin of delicatessen

C19: from German Delikatessen, literally: delicacies, pl of Delikatesse a delicacy, from French délicatesse

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

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