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

Kansas City’s 1940s streetcar in the River Market will soon become a deli and grab-and-go restaurant. —Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2025

The Boar’s Head deli meat plant at the heart of last year’s deadly food poisoning outbreak is set to reopen in the coming months, company officials said. —Jonel Aleccia, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025

And from now through Sept. 6, the chefs at the stores are making several deli recipes featuring the chiles. —Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025

When Ulla and Sunny returned from the Korean deli with toilet paper, tofu, sprouts, and six assorted artisan ales, Ulla almost trod on it but didn’t. —Kiran Desai, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 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