deli

noun

ˈde-lē

plural delis

: a store where ready-to-eat food products (such as cooked meats and prepared salads) are sold : delicatessen

You shuffle off to the deli and pick up a pastrami-on-rye and an egg cream. The bald man behind the counter whistles cheerfully as he slices the meat.—

Jay McInerney

Sixth Avenue in midtown was once lined with convenient, low-priced delis, cafeterias, coffee shops, and the like.—

Brendan Gill

also : the food sold at a delicatessen

If you're hungry for deli in Miami, only the Rascal House will do. —

Norman Kolpas

… a neat, orderly, well-lighted place so clean you could eat deli off the floor … —

Jack Fincher

—often used before another noun

deli meats/platters

waiting in line at the deli counter

Examples of deli in a Sentence

We bought sandwiches and drinks at the deli.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Health inspectors shut down a longtime deli in downtown Sacramento after uncovering an active cockroach infestation. —

Hannah Poukish, Sacramento Bee, 10 Jan. 2025 The company issued a recall in July 2024 of all deli products made at their production plant in Jarratt, Virginia after meats made there when sliced at deli meat counters where found to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the CDC said. —

Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2025 There’s also The Market coffee shop and deli for snacks and convenient takeaway items. —

Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 31 Dec. 2024 Popular Boar's Head recalled millions pounds of deli meats because of possible listeria contamination. —

Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 30 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for deli