grocer

noun

gro·​cer ˈgrō-sər  -shər 

: a dealer in staple foodstuffs, meats, produce, and dairy products and usually household supplies

Examples of grocer in a Sentence

Ask your local grocer if he sells organic fruits and vegetables.

Recent Examples on the Web

The specialty grocer opened two new locations in April in Seattle and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. —Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025

Because of this business structure, the grocer sells different products on a daily basis. —Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Apr. 2025

The grocer also committed to audit certain products with inventory tracking software. —Annika Merrilees, Sacbee.com, 22 Apr. 2025

Returning to Reims frequently references the work of Annie Ernaux, the winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in literature, whose recollections of her childhood and the lives of her grocer parents have been published in books such as A Man’s Place and A Woman’s Story. —Rhian Sasseen, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English grocer, grosser "wholesale dealer in preserved foods, spices, wine, etc.," borrowed from Anglo-French groser, grosser, grossour (Middle French grossier), from gros "the greater part, the bulk," en gros "wholesale, in bulk" (derivative of gros, adjective, "large, great, coarse") + -er, -our -er entry 2 — more at gross entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grocer

• closer
• grosser
• greengrocer

Kids Definition

grocer

noun

gro·​cer ˈgrō-sər 

: a dealer in food and household supplies