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

If her grandfather or great-grandfather, who both knew their way around a deli, were here, they would be positively verklempt. —Jordan Michelman, The Atlantic, 12 June 2025

In addition to its focus on Greek food and Mediterranean seafood dishes, there’s also a deli. —Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 10 June 2025

My local Palestinian deli grinds cardamom into its coffee. —Tyler Shane, Wired News, 31 May 2025

There, several members yanked Junior out of the deli and butchered him with knives and a machete. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 31 May 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