deli

noun

\ ˈde-lē

plural delis

Definition of deli

: 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

Bagel bakers, lox purveyors and deli owners have been more measured. — Jacob Gershman And Charles Passy, WSJ, "Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels Face a Schmear Campaign in New York," 12 Sep. 2018 The teen was seen on video being dragged outside of the deli by the assailants. — Crimesider Staff, CBS News, "Eighth arrest in fatal stabbing of Bronx teenager outside bodega," 26 June 2018 Liz Johnson of the new Freedman's deli in Echo Park, Miles Thompson of Michael's in Santa Monica and Jonathan Yao of Kato in Sawtelle are all semifinalists for the Rising Star Chef of the Year award. — Jenn Harris, latimes.com, "James Beard Award semifinalists include Michael Cimarusti, Josef Centeno, Niki Nakayama and more Los Angeles chefs," 15 Feb. 2018 All seven people had shopped at Costco’s Issaquah store, including five who bought ready-to-eat food from the deli. — Agueda Pacheco-flores, The Seattle Times, "Salmonella that’s sickened 7 people traced to Issaquah Costco, King County says," 27 Sep. 2018 The now-open Naperville store includes a fresh produce section, bakery and Indian-style deli. — Erin Hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Naperville's growing Asian population draws new businesses to long-vacant spots," 31 Mar. 2018 Food workers include those who work at restaurants, bars, fast food establishments and delis. — Perry A. Farrell, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit asking all food workers to get a Hepatitis A vaccine," 23 Jan. 2018 Fortunately, there was a kosher deli next to the hotel. — Marc Myers, WSJ, "Itzhak Perlman Became a Star on TV at Age 13," 8 Jan. 2019 All eight men linked to the grisly murder of a 15-year-old who was hacked to death with a machete outside of a New York City deli have been arraigned on charges of murder, manslaughter and gang assault, according to reports. — Jajuan M. Morris-guity, Fox News, "8 gang-affiliated men charged with murder in fatal stabbing of Bronx teen," 27 June 2018

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