grocery

noun

gro·​cery ˈgrōs-rē 

ˈgrō-sə-;

ˈgrōsh-rē 

plural groceries

1

groceries plural : the food and supplies sold by a grocer

—usually singular in British usage

2

: a grocer's store

Examples of grocery in a Sentence

She stopped to pick up some groceries for supper.

Recent Examples on the Web

The companies also are eyeing South Florida, Orlando and Tampa, along with Los Angeles, Cincinnati and California’s Bay Area for the next wave of drone deliveries of items like last-minute groceries and over-the-counter medicine. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026

Movies and television shows, tie-ins with clothing brands, grocery-store chains, and energy drinks — the Seven would shill anything affiliated with Vought, no matter how ludicrous. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026

Though 11 of the 25 common grocery staples analyzed in a recent CouponFollow study fell in price over the past two years, the food items that are climbing have offset those savings. —Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026

Even households making six figures are struggling to afford child care, rent, groceries, health insurance, summer camp, and student-loan debt. —Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English grocerye, grosery "merchandise sold by wholesalers, the Grocers' Company of London," borrowed from Anglo-French grocerie, groserie, from groser "wholesale dealer in preserved foods, spices, wine, etc." + -ie -y entry 2 — more at grocer

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing grocery

• do (one's) grocery shopping
• go grocery shopping
• grocery bag
• grocery cart
• grocery list
• grocery store

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Kids Definition

grocery

noun

gro·​cery ˈgrōs-(ə-)rē 

plural groceries

1

plural : food sold by a grocer

went out to buy the groceries

2

: a grocer's store