1
: grocery items (such as tobacco, sugar, flour, and coffee) that do not contain liquid
2
: textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and notions as distinguished especially from hardware and groceries

Examples of dry goods in a Sentence

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.
The shops on this street used to sell things people actually needed—clothes, shoes, dry goods, groceries, hardware—not just tchotchkes. Literary Hub, 12 June 2025 The first floor was devoted to dry goods, shoes and notions. Randy McCrory Vintage Bentonville, Arkansas Online, 7 May 2025 The two buildings on Tuna Street, the commercial corridor of the Japanese village, housed the grocery A. Nakamura Co. and the dry goods store Nanka Shoten, both established more than a century ago. Claire Wang, NBC news, 31 May 2025 Farm Share, a main supplier of free food in the county, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently cut in half the number of semi-trucks packed with cans, produce, and dry goods like rice and beans that find their way to local charities and nonprofits. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 29 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for dry goods

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of dry goods was in 1657

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Cite this Entry

“Dry goods.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dry%20goods. Accessed 24 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

dry goods

plural noun
: cloth goods (as fabrics, lace, and ribbon)

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