delicatessen
Americannoun
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a store selling foods already prepared or requiring little preparation for serving, as cooked meats, cheese, salads, and the like.
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Informal. the food products sold in such a store or at a counter.
We're having delicatessen for dinner.
noun
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a shop selling various foods, esp unusual or imported foods, already cooked or prepared
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such foods
Etymology
Origin of delicatessen
1885–90, < German, plural of Delikatesse dainty < French délicatesse
Explanation
A delicatessen is a small market where you can buy prepared food, sandwiches, sliced meat and cheese, and other food items. Your morning routine might include a stop at the delicatessen for a toasted bagel. A delicatessen is a specialty food shop that often specializes in traditionally Jewish, Italian, or German foods. While you can stock up on bread, milk, and other staples at many delicatessens, they're best known for unusual ethnic foods and prepared sandwiches and salads. The word delicatessen comes from the German delikatessen, which is plural for delikatesse, "delicacy" or "fine food."
Vocabulary lists containing delicatessen
The Melting Pot: Food Words from Other Languages
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The View from Saturday
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Stuart Little
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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.
The city’s appetizing stores, which first appeared in the late 19th century, are a type of delicatessen that only sells products such as smoked and cured fish, dairy and nuts due to kosher law.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
Thierry Ways, the owner of La Parisienne, a delicatessen in the coastal city of Barranquilla, also pointed out the inconsistency in the new rule.
From New York Times • Jun. 10, 2023
The alleged illegal activities came to light in 2021, when media reports surfaced that Hometown International, whose sole asset was a delicatessen in Paulsboro, New Jersey, had a valuation of about $100 million.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 20, 2023
I mentioned that Canter’s delicatessen on Fairfax, another hangout from the old days, was still there.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2023
Mr. Pignati said he only got the card so his wife could go shopping in the fancy-food delicatessen they’ve got at Beekman’s.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
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.
