grocer

American  

[groh-ser] / ˈgroʊ sər /

noun

1. the owner or operator of a store that sells general food supplies and certain nonedible articles of household use, as soaps and paper products.

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grocer British  

/ ˈɡrəʊsə /

noun

1. a dealer in foodstuffs and other household supplies

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Etymology

Origin of grocer

1325–75; Middle English < Old French gross ( i ) er wholesale merchant. See gross, -er ²

Explanation

Someone who sells food in a supermarket or convenience store is a grocer. If you can't find your favorite kind of cereal on the shelf, you should ask the grocer to help you. The owner or manager of a grocery store is a grocer. This word once meant "one who buys and sells in gross," or in large quantities, from the Anglo-French grosser. By the 16th century, grocer also meant "merchant selling food," but earlier that person would've been called a spicer. Your neighborhood grocer might sell fresh produce from local farmers, unlike that big box supermarket out by the mall.

Example Sentences

They are buying $1 boxes of pasta at discount grocer Lidl and cheese at Aldi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

The Bay Area-based bargain grocer Grocery Outlet is closing 36 stores after it expanded too fast.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2026

Also read: Kroger’s stock may not look so hot to investors, but the grocer keeps buying.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026

The grocer is one of many major retailers to have rolled out AI customer service assistants in recent years to help with routine issues.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

The grocer down the street, hoping for a summer of sweet peaches.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate