Meaning & use
bodega
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Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A small neighborhood shop that sells groceries, snacks and household items, common in New York and other US cities.
Grammar: Countable: the bodega on the corner, two bodegas.
Patterns
- at the bodega
- a bodega on something
I ran down to the bodega for milk and eggs.
The bodega on our block stays open until midnight.
He grabbed a coffee and a sandwich from the bodega.
nouncountablespecialist
In Spain and Spanish-speaking regions, a wine cellar or a shop or warehouse that stores and sells wine.
Grammar: Countable, and usually italicized or explained when used in English writing about wine.
Patterns
- a bodega in somewhere
We toured a bodega in Jerez and tasted sherry.
The family bodega has aged its wine for generations.
Each bodega in the valley opens its doors in autumn.
Word forms
| plural | bodegas |
|---|
Common combinations
- corner bodega
- The corner bodega knows my usual order.
- bodega cat
- The bodega cat sleeps on a stack of bread.
- visit a bodega
- We visited a bodega in Rioja on our trip.
- bodega sandwich
- A bodega sandwich is a classic New York breakfast.
- family-run bodega
- It's a family-run bodega with fruit stacked outside.
Synonyms and how they differ
- corner store
- Corner store is the general American term for any small local shop, while bodega suggests a Hispanic-owned neighborhood market, especially in New York.
- convenience store
- A convenience store is often part of a chain, whereas a bodega is usually independent and local.
- deli
- A deli focuses on prepared meats, cheeses and sandwiches, but a bodega sells a wider mix of goods.
- cellar
- Cellar matches the wine-storage sense of bodega but has no connection to selling groceries.
Opposites
Word family
- bodeguero noun
- a Spanish word for the person who runs a bodega
- bodega cat noun
- a cat that lives in a shop and keeps mice away
Commonly confused: bodega or bodice?
bodega vs bodice
A bodice is the upper part of a dress, with no link to shops despite the similar start.
Practice
After midnight, Marco walked to the ___ on the corner to buy bread and milk.
Choose one answer.
A bodega is a small neighborhood shop selling groceries; a bodice is part of a dress, and the other options are not places you would buy milk.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bodega”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.