bodega

noun bo·de·ga \ bō-ˈdā-gə \

|Updated on: 19 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: Apothecaries, bodegas, and boutiques

Definition of bodega

1 : a storehouse for maturing wine

2 a : wineshop

b (1) : ¹bar 5a

(2) : barroom

3 : a usually small grocery store in an urban area; specifically : one specializing in Hispanic groceries

Recent Examples of bodega from the Web

Every bodega radio, every cookout and beach day and late-night bonfire welcomingly offers it up, day after day, again and again.

— jason parham, WIRED, "Childish Gambino and the Search for the Summer Anthem," 12 July 2018
CBS New York reports that the family visited the memorial outside the bodega where Junior was attacked following the funeral, lighting candles in the teen’s honor.

— jewel wicker, Teen Vogue, "Lesandro Guzman-Feliz's Funeral Was Attended by Thousands," 28 June 2018
The bodega is at 122 Hillside Ave. in the Behind the Rocks neighborhood.

— ruth bruno, courant.com, "Hartford PD: Four Injured, One Critically, In Hillside Avenue Drive-By Shooting," 28 June 2018
And yet, my Brooklyn bodega is still stocking five varieties of the saccharine fruit-on-the-bottom stuff that the kids from the middle school across the street can’t seem to get enough of.

— priya krishna, Bon Appetit, "The Raita Formula I’ve Memorized for Yogurt Sauce Success," 11 Apr. 2018
Lastly, let’s end the week’s recap with Alton Mason, who managed to elevate a whole New York bodega in a Balenciaga zip-up.

— liana satenstein, Vogue, "The Best Fashion Instagrams of the Week: Kendall and Kaia Are Grumpy-Chic, Cardi B Channels Old Hollywood," 7 Apr. 2018
The projects that were once here have been torn down and replaced by a shiny red-and-white Target, and there are white people taking a spin class in the building that used to house the Arabic bodega.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Judgement and Epiphany on Pittsburgh’s Number 79 Bus," 11 May 2018
Velez, Claudio, Amaral and Cabrera all face federal gun charges stemming from a shootout that gripped Franklin Avenue on April 28, 2017, when gunshots were traded outside a bodega after an argument, Hartford police said at the time.

— nicholas rondinone, courant.com, "Sweeping Drug Indictment Hits Alleged Latin King Members, Associates," 8 May 2018
And just like that, Tiffany & Co. became even cooler — though the bodega takeovers and Tiffany Blue cabs didn’t hurt either.

— refinery29.com, "Breakfast At Tiffany's," 4 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bodega.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Apothecaries, bodegas, and boutiques

Apothecary, bodega, and boutique may not look very similar, but they are all related both in meaning and in origin. Each of these words can be traced back to a Latin word for “storehouse” (apotheca), and each one refers in English to a retail establishment of some sort. Although bodega initially meant “a storehouse for wine,” it now most commonly refers to a grocery store in an urban area, especially one that specializes in Hispanic groceries. Boutique has also taken on new meanings: its first sense in English (“a small retail store”) is still current, but it now may also denote “a small company that offers highly specialized products or services.” Of the three words, apothecary has changed the least; it has gone from referring solely to the person who sells drugs or medicines to also naming the store where such goods are sold.