shopping cart

noun

1

: a metal or plastic cart with four small wheels that is used for holding merchandise when shopping (as at a supermarket or department store)

… about the only amenities besides the jumbo-sized shopping carts are a few flatbed dollies to allow shoppers to get large appliances like refrigerators and washing machines to the cash register and then out to the parking lot.

—Jean Crichton

2

: a temporary record of items selected for eventual purchase from an online vendor's website

To set up shop on the Internet, you need a commerce-enabled Web site, which includes the electronic shopping cart; a connection to the credit card network; and finally, a merchant account …

—Tom Negrino

Delivery charges are the No. 1 reason shoppers abandon a virtual shopping cart, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. Every Internet shopper has a shipping-charge horror story.

—Ellen Neuborn

Examples of shopping cart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Our survey found that 61% of shoppers would abandon their shopping cart if their preferred payment method was unavailable. —Greg Hewitt, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

Our shopping carts are filling up quickly this week. —Kasey Caminiti, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025

Start adding Las Vegas Raiders jerseys to your online shopping carts, Bronco fans. —Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2025

There were tires, a rocking chair, a shopping cart, shelving units and more. —Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shopping cart

• counterpart
• apart
• depart
• flowchart
• forepart
• impart
• pushcart
• rampart
• redstart
• restart
• subpart
• sweetheart