• Grocery

    Pronunciation

    • RP IPA: /ˈɡɹəʊsəɹi/
    • GenAm IPA: /ˈɡɹoÊŠsəɹi/, /ˈɡɹoÊŠsɹi/, /ˈɡɹoʊʃɹi/

    Origin

    From French grosserie ("wholesale").

    Websters 1913

    Compare gross.

    Full definition of grocery

    Noun

    grocery

    (plural groceries)
    1. (usually groceries) retail foodstuffs and other household supplies.
      • 1776: ,Where ten thousand pounds can be employed in the grocery trade, the wages of the grocer's labour make but a very trifling addition...
      • 1850, Thomas Carlyle, , The present timeDid not cotton spin itself, beef grow, and groceries and spiceries come in from the East and the West, quite comfortably by the side of shams?
    2. A shop or store that sells groceries; a grocery store.
      • 1854: ,I observed that the vitals of the village were the grocery, the bar-room, the post-office, and the bank...

    Usage notes

    When referring to goods, the singular form is primarily used attributively, as in a grocery bill, a grocery list, etc. The plural form, groceries, is much more frequently used to refer to actual goods, especially in the US.

    Synonyms

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