grocery

American  

[groh-suh-ree, groh-shree] / ˈgroʊ sə ri, ˈgroʊ ʃri /

noun

• groceries
  plural

1. Also called grocery store. a store that sells perishable and nonperishable food supplies and certain nonedible household items, such as soaps and paper products.

2. Usually groceries; grocery food and other items sold at a grocery store or sold by a grocer.

3. the business of a grocer.

4. Southwestern U.S. (formerly)

   1. a saloon or bar.

   2. a liquor store.

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grocery British  

/ ˈɡrəʊsərɪ /

noun

1. the business or premises of a grocer

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• groceries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grocery

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English grocerie; grocer + -ie -y ³ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grocery groceries

With no money left to import goods and resell them at around a tenth of their market value, the bodegas are being replaced with grocery stores that charge close to market prices.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

After dropping out of high school at 14, he worked on the local railroad and in his father’s wholesale grocery before co-founding a chapter of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Surging grocery costs and $4-a-gallon gas prices where he lives have the 62-year-old mortgage-loan officer cutting back on day-to-day expenses.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

And in Alabama, where one woman has been caring for an old co-worker’s 2-year-old for nearly a year since ICE picked up the baby’s mother while she was on a grocery run.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

We used to do the bottle return at the grocery store together when I was little.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

The US economy is on the minds of many voters struggling with the price of fuel, groceries, housing and healthcare.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Another survey, from the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy, found 57 percent placing groceries, gas or utilities among their top three issues.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

The funniest comments, she said, are the very specific observations such as, “You look like you could carry the groceries in one trip.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The ability to rise from a chair, steady yourself on uneven ground or carry a bag of groceries may seem ordinary, but it is deeply meaningful.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

That money could pay bills, help with the groceries.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai