deli

noun

ˈde-lē 

plural delis

: a store or department of 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

Guests can order at a deli counter, where cheeses and meats are on full display, or an outside wine window. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2026

The county is urging people who ate food purchased at Ramona Family Naturals Market or its deli and develop symptoms to contact their health care provider. — Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2026

Landing in San Francisco, An helped convert her mother-in-law’s Italian deli into what is now Thanh Long, hailed as the first Vietnamese restaurant in the city. — Melody Xu, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

The 30-minute video posted by Pfister of the Zimmerman’s Meat Market incident from earlier this year shows him, his wife, Pam, and another man holding their cameras to the deli’s front window, capturing what was visible inside. — Kyung Lah, CNN Money, 25 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

short for delicatessen

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deli

• belly
• jelly
• kellie
• melly
• nellie
• nelly
• shelly
• skelly
• smellie
• smelly
• tele
• telly

Kids Definition

deli

noun

ˈdel-ē 

plural delis

: delicatessen sense 2