supermarket
Americannoun
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a large retail market that sells food and other household goods and that is usually operated on a self-service basis.
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any business or company offering an unusually wide range of goods or services.
a financial supermarket that sells stocks, bonds, insurance, and real estate.
noun
Etymology
Origin of supermarket
Explanation
A supermarket is a store that sells groceries and other goods. Although supermarkets are primarily places to buy food, nowadays you can find everything from shampoo to toys to bestselling novels at a large supermarket. The distinguishing characteristics of a supermarket are that it sells food and household products, and that shoppers serve themselves, often pushing grocery carts and filling them with items. Though some people think of supermarkets as being much larger than grocery stores, others use the two terms interchangeably. This American-coined word first appeared in print in the early 1930s.
Vocabulary lists containing supermarket
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.
One couple, allegedly approached at a supermarket, was told by Minerd they could receive $300 a month each and receive nutritional shakes, nonprescription vitamins and wheelchairs, Essayli said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026
McCormick appeared in more supermarket spice aisles by 1926, as the company began offering its stock to wholesale grocers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
“It’s basically like a global supermarket of fake police stations,” he said of recent findings in abandoned scam compounds.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
A supermarket in Orkney has been giving away bananas after accidentally ordering an estimated 38,000 of them - almost double the entire population of the islands.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
One afternoon, when my mother was at the supermarket next door to the dance school, I ran out of ballet class with blood pouring out of my mouth.
From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince
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.
