Word
grocery
Phoneticsgro·cery
US/ˈɡɹoʊsɝi/
UK/ɡɹˈəʊsəɹi/
Definitions
01food and household items
n. food and other things for the home that you buy at a supermarket or store.
n. foodstuffs and various household supplies sold by a grocer or at a supermarket. Usually used in the plural form 'groceries'.
“We need to buy some groceries for the weekend because the fridge is empty.”
“After a long day at work, she stopped to pick up some groceries, including fresh produce and several household staples for the week ahead.”
Usage
Commonly used in the plural when referring to the items themselves.
Synonyms
02the shop
n. a shop that sells food and small items for the home.
n. a retail establishment that sells food and household supplies; a grocery store.
“Is there a grocery near here where I can get some milk?”
“The small independent grocery on the corner struggled to compete once the international supermarket chain opened a branch nearby.”
Usage
Often used as an attributive noun in 'grocery store' or 'grocery bag'.
Synonyms
03to go shopping
v. to go out and buy food and household items.
v. to engage in the act of grocery shopping. This use is informal and often intransitive.
“I spent the whole morning grocerying because we had no food left.”
“They spent their Saturday morning grocerying for the upcoming holiday party, navigating the crowded aisles with a growing list of ingredients.”
Informal
Usage
Usually used as a gerund or in the continuous tense.
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“A woman is stopped for buying groceries alone.” Etymology
From Middle English grocerye, equivalent to grocer + -y. Compare gross. Doublet of groceria.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/grocery