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checkout (noun) is the place where you pay for the things that you are buying in a supermarket

For example, I paid for my groceries at the checkout

Now, a supermarket might have a rule in which you can not carry any bags into it. There might be some lockers and a guard in front of the supermarket. You have to give your bag to the guard and they will put it into a locker, lock it and give the key to you.

You then just go into the supermarket barehanded.

When you get out the the supermarket, you give the key to the guard and he gives the bag back to you.

Do we have a word referring to that "keeping-belongings place" the same way we have the noun "checkout", for example, "Keeping counter" or something like that?

Can we say "You can not go into the supermarket without having your belongings kept over there"?

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    Is this a real thing in Vietnam?
    – James K
    Commented Feb 2, 2023 at 5:31
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    @JamesK - it is certainly a thing in France and Spain, although not in all establishments. I think any supermarket in the UK that tried it would probably go out of business quite soon. Customers would not like being treated with suspicion.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 2, 2023 at 7:28
  • @JamesK, Yes, not many but some supermarkets have it.
    – Tom
    Commented Feb 2, 2023 at 9:52

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I've seen these in other countries, but I don't think they are very common in English-speaking countries and rarely, if ever, would they be manned by a guard rather than coin-operated or free. I think I'd just refer to "the lockers" if it is a wall containing unattended automatic lockers.

"Locker-room" has a different connotation (usually where athletes change their clothes and perhaps shower).

If there actually is an attendant it might be a "bag check" (like a "coat check"). In the case of someone with a large bag that wants to shop they might be asked to "check their bag" at the service counter, for example and it would (hopefully) be returned when they leave.

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  • Cloakroom is also commonly used for a place you can store not only coats, but bags and other items. Possibly not the best but worth considering.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jan 23 at 9:53
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Many stores in the US, though not grocery stores in my experience, have a "bag check" where customers are required to leave bags larger than a certain size, in the hopes of preventing shoplifting. I have also seen this at art shows and the like.

This is somewhat similar to the "coat check" stations at concert halls and other social venues, though that is more for the convenience of patrons.

However, be careful -- the term "bag check" is also used for the practice of inspecting bags carried by patrons on the way out the door, to make sure that there is not stolen goods inside.

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