deli

noun

ˈde-lē 

plural delis

: a store where ready-to-eat food products (such as cooked meats and prepared salads) are sold : delicatessen

You shuffle off to the deli and pick up a pastrami-on-rye and an egg cream. The bald man behind the counter whistles cheerfully as he slices the meat.

—Jay McInerney

Sixth Avenue in midtown was once lined with convenient, low-priced delis, cafeterias, coffee shops, and the like.

—Brendan Gill

also : the food sold at a delicatessen

If you're hungry for deli in Miami, only the Rascal House will do.

—Norman Kolpas

… a neat, orderly, well-lighted place so clean you could eat deli off the floor …

—Jack Fincher

—often used before another noun

deli meats/platters

waiting in line at the deli counter

Examples of deli in a Sentence

We bought sandwiches and drinks at the deli.

Recent Examples on the Web

In New York City, cats are beloved fixtures of the city’s bodegas and delis. —John Raby, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025

Although the bacterium can contaminate many types of food, cheeses or deli meats that are kept in cold storage for long periods in stores or at home are a place where listeria can keep growing. —Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025

The second location will have a drive-thru and offer new menu items, including omelettes, specialty Pete’s Coffee drinks, new cream cheese flavors and additional Boar’s Head deli meat options. —Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 7 Oct. 2025

The low-fat craze of the '80s and '90s left sales of similar deli meats like bologna dropping year after year, according to the blog Food Republic. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deli

• belly
• felly
• jelly
• kellie
• melly
• nellie
• nelly
• shelly
• skelly
• smellie
• smelly
• tele

Kids Definition

deli

noun

ˈdel-ē 

plural delis

: delicatessen sense 2