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
Jay McInerneySixth Avenue in midtown was once lined with convenient, low-priced delis, cafeterias, coffee shops, and the like.—Brendan Gill
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
Norman Kolpas … a neat, orderly, well-lighted place so clean you could eat deli off the floor … —Jack Fincher
—often used before another noun Jack Fincher 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 May 2001, Jennifer Stahl, 39, an artist, singer, and actor, who had a minor role in Dirty Dancing, was selling exotic weed to an artsy clientele out of her sixth-floor apartment above the famous Jewish deli across the street from Carnegie Hall.
—John J. Lennon, Rolling Stone, 19 July 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, 18 July 2025
Each deli also offers housemade meat lasagna, Roman-style meatballs and eggplant towers.
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 7 July 2025
The deli restaurant and its nearby Scoop Deck, a place people went for ice cream, have been go-to destinations for people refueling after a jaunt around the harbor, to meet friends, hold business meetings or a place to chill.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for deli
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John J. Lennon, Rolling Stone, 19 July 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, 18 July 2025
Each deli also offers housemade meat lasagna, Roman-style meatballs and eggplant towers.
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 7 July 2025
The deli restaurant and its nearby Scoop Deck, a place people went for ice cream, have been go-to destinations for people refueling after a jaunt around the harbor, to meet friends, hold business meetings or a place to chill.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for deli
Cite this Entry
“Deli.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deli. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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