Supermarket Definition: Pronunciation, Common Phrases, Practice

Take a look at how native speakers use this word to share information and tell something daily.

Discover synonymous expressions to expand your vocabulary and be able to represent your thoughts in oral and written forms of English.

Related nouns: store grocery shop market

Synonyms (contextual): grocery store convenience shop hypermarket

Common collocations: go to the supermarket work in a supermarket supermarket chain

This word has a lot of variations of usage; you can put it together with verbs, nouns and adjectives to create new, meaningful collocations and sentences.

With adjectives: local supermarket busy supermarket modern supermarket

With verbs: shop at the supermarket open a supermarket manage a supermarket

With nouns (noun + noun): supermarket shelf supermarket cashier supermarket customer

A description of the supermarket is understandable, so we offer you something new. Learn about some of the unique phrases with this word, their meanings and examples in sentences.

• Supermarket sweep — refers to a situation where people rush to grab as many items as possible, often in a chaotic or competitive way.

  When the sale started, shoppers turned the store into a real supermarket sweep, filling their carts within minutes.

• Supermarket culture — the consumerist lifestyle focused on convenience and quantity over quality.

  He criticized the supermarket culture that values speed over craftsmanship.

• A supermarket of ideas — a place or situation full of diverse options or opportunities.

  The internet is a supermarket of ideas waiting for you to be explored.

• Supermarket psychology — the study of how stores influence customer behavior.

  Supermarket psychology explains why essentials are never near the entrance.

It’s time to show your knowledge, describe what a supermarket means and maybe learn something through the completion of these interactive exercises.

Discover how to spell “supermarket” and pronounce it in French, Spanish and German to know how to say this word in case you visit countries where these languages are widely used.

To completely define a “supermarket,” you need to know interesting details about some of the inner procedures of this type of establishment and how they influence people’s minds.

• The bread shelf is strategic.

  Bakeries frequently place their products at the back of the store so that the customers have to walk through the whole supermarket; this way, everyone gets to see the products and sales are boosted. This promotes impulse buying since the shopper’s view of items is widened.

• Color psychology matters.

  Red and yellow are the colors used in signs and price tags, as these are the colors that always attract and, at the same time, create a sense of urgency. The colors can unknowingly trigger the feeling of hunger or buying excitement in people while walking in the supermarket.

• Supermarkets “smell” money.

  The stores use stronger scents like that of fresh bread or coffee for the reason that nice smells will make the customers stay for a longer time and, thus, buy more. This is the “scent marketing” tactic, which can raise sales by 20%+ according to the research of Washington State University.

• The cart is a sales tool.

  Large shopping carts encourage people to buy more than they planned because the empty space feels like an invitation to fill it. Smaller carts tend to limit purchases, showing how size influences spending.

• Odd prices aren’t random.

  The price tags ending in .99 cause the shoppers to interpret the item as cheaper than it is; this tactic is called “psychological pricing.” The difference is only one cent, but it can be a strong contributor to the growth of sales over time.

Supermarkets have become not only an integral part of our lives, but they also often appear in various quotations to describe certain situations. Let’s take a look at a few of them!

— Rafael Nadal

Explanation: It highlights the basic pleasures of life. Despite being famous all over the world, Rafael Nadal still loves those moments where his identity is only known to a few and he can indulge in simple things without the hassle or the cameras being there.

— Douglas Coupland

Explanation: The statement of Douglas Coupland is funny and thus provides a good illustration of the difference between famous and non-famous life. It notices that even the most ordinary and trivial contacts, such as being helped by automatic doors to open, can be a bit hard, and at the same time, it is a reminder that such minor hardships are shared by all.

— Bill Vaughan

Explanation: Bill Vaughan’s quote turns a common frustration into a universal truth, teaching us patience and the humor of everyday life.