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

One of the easiest places to start is with what’s in your shopping cart. — Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 2 Aug. 2026

On that note, before adding to your online shopping cart, take a moment to think about whether this will actually bring anything to your life. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026

According to the research, some storefronts allowed visitors to add donation-style payments of up to $1,000 to a shopping cart. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026

Simply add them to your Everlane shopping cart to access an additional 20 percent off. — Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 28 July 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