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

Tech companies for years have been trying to create digital helpers for mundane digital tasks, like building shopping carts, tracking online orders and planning trips. —Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 3 June 2026

Here’s what’s driving shopping carts this year — and what the data says about how Americans are actually buying food. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026

Need some inspo on what to add to your shopping cart ahead of Prime Day 2026? —Meaghan Kenny, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

Several studies have found that shopping cart handles have more germs than public restrooms. —Mindy Johnston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 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