What does grocer mean?
A grocer is a person who sells food and other everyday household goods, usually from a small shop or grocery store. The word is particularly familiar in British English, where it commonly denotes a local shopkeeper, while North American speakers also use it for the owner or operator of a grocery store. The related word grocery refers both to provisions such as food and household necessities and, in some regional usage, to the shop where they are sold. Grocer has a slightly old-fashioned or traditional tone, especially in expressions such as the family grocer, even though it remains common in contemporary speech. Its history reflects an earlier commercial distinction: the word originally referred to someone who dealt in goods wholesale, rather than retail. Today, it usually identifies a person whose business is supplying a neighborhood with food and other necessities.
A person who sells food and other household goods, especially in a shop.
"She asked the grocer whether the bread was freshly baked."
The term remains especially common in British English for a local shopkeeper and in North American English for a grocery-store owner or operator.
Historically, a person who dealt in goods wholesale or in large quantities.
"The medieval merchant was known as a grocer because he sold his wares in gross."
The standard plural refers to multiple people who sell food or household goods.
"Several grocers in the town offer weekly delivery services."
The word grocer began with a sense of selling in bulk: 'gross' meant wholesale before it came to mean total.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does grocer come from?
The English word grocer came through Middle English from Old French grossier, meaning a wholesaler or dealer in large quantities. It was ultimately connected with Old French gros, associated with bulk, coarseness, or wholesale trade, and ultimately with Latin grossus. English later developed grocery and groceryman, while the modern sense narrowed to a retailer of food and household provisions.
Related word forms
How grocer is actually used
In British English, grocer is especially associated with a shopkeeper selling food and household provisions, while grocery commonly refers to the goods. In North American English, grocer can mean an owner or operator of a grocery store, although grocery store is the usual term for the business.
Easily confused with grocer
A grocer is the person who sells goods, whereas a grocery is the food or other provisions sold, and sometimes the shop itself.