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

In addition to the shopping carts, your local Target store itself may also look different soon. —Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 22 May 2026

So where might the government take its shopping cart next? —Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 22 May 2026

Unlike auto insurance, car warranties don’t cover accidental damage, whether that’s from a wreck, an unfortunate confrontation with a shopping cart, or a storm. —Kate Tully Ellsworth, USA Today, 18 May 2026

The suspect then parked the shopping cart next to the children's clothing section and set it ablaze. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026

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