bodega

B3O1D2E1G2A1
US/boʊˈdeɪɡə/Philippines/boˈde.ɡɐ/

noun

A storehouse for maturing wine, a winery.

Less commonScrabble 10

Meanings

bodega1

nounbodega (plural bodegas)

plural bodegas

  1. USA store specializing in Hispanic groceries.
  2. New YorkespeciallyinformalAny convenience store.

    He […] finds himself looking across the street, at a little bodega on the corner.

    2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 83
    2 more examples

    The ensemble of (often shirtless) young people spend most of the film drinking malt liquor, taking drugs, robbing bodegas, assaulting skateboarders, and (especially) having and discussing sex.

    2022, Chuck Klosterman, The Nineties, New York: Penguin Press, →ISBN

    The familiar yellow awning of your favorite bodega beckons. You step under it, then into the glare of fluorescent lights. All you have to do is nod at the man behind the counter: He knows you want to order a chopped cheese. […] Bodegas, those small corner stores dotting blocks throughout the five boroughs, have been an essential part of city life for decades. The term, popularized by Puerto Ricans, loosely translates from Spanish to “warehouse.” […] In an age of increasingly high rents, growing chain stores, endless food delivery apps and a health-obsessed population, it’s somewhat of an urban miracle that bodegas are still around.

    2025 November 17, Anna Kodé, “New York’s Bodegas Are Here to Stay”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Nov 2025
  3. SouthwesternUSinformalAny small or medium-sized shop with a unique facade in a shopping center plaza, usually located in the center or the sides of the plaza. (Does not include the anchor tenant of the shopping center, as they are usually referred to as the anchor.)
  4. PhilippinesA warehouse; a storeroom.

    They allowed Filipinos to go inside the bodega of the Central and get all the sugar they needed.

    1958, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, page 413
    2 more examples

    Copra as brought into town from the plantations in bull carts is hauled to the door of his bodega, and the sale is negotiated.

    1925, Everett D. Gothwaite, Trade in Philippine Copra and Coconut Oil, page 51

    Under the law, that is sufficient, and they make it clear that the value or the purchase prices is ₱100,000, and the bank is compelled under this proviso to accept the ricemill or bodega as sufficient collateral.

    1960, Philippines. Congress (1940-1973). Senate, Republic of the Philippines Congressional Record

Bodega2

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
  3. Proto-Hellenic*apó
  4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓πό (ăpó)
  5. Ancient Greekᾰ̓πο- (ăpo-)
  6. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*dʰédʰeh₁ti
  8. Ancient Greekτίθημι (títhēmi)
  9. Ancient Greekἀποτίθημι (apotíthēmi)
  10. Ancient Greekἀποθήκη (apothḗkē)
  11. Latinapothēca
  12. Old Spanishbodega
  13. Spanishbodega
  14. Englishbodega

Borrowed from Spanish bodega, from Latin apothēca (“storehouse”), from Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (apothḗkē, “storehouse”). Doublet of apotheke and boutique. In New York, it was popularized by the Puerto Rican community.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bodega. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bodega

MLA

“bodega.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bodega. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bodega,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bodega.

Source: bodega on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.