A newsstand is a small outdoor booth or indoor counter where people buy newspapers, magazines, and sometimes snacks or drinks. Picture a compact kiosk on a busy city sidewalk, its front covered with colorful magazine covers and neatly stacked newspapers. The person working there sells you what you need and makes change from a small cash box.

Newsstands were once everywhere in American cities. Before the internet, people stopped at their neighborhood newsstand each morning to buy the daily paper or pick up their favorite magazine. The newsstand owner often knew regular customers by name and saved their preferred publications.

Today, most newsstands have disappeared as people get their news online. You might still find them in airports, train stations, or big cities like New York. The word can also describe the magazine rack inside a bookstore or library where periodicals are displayed. When someone says they saw an article “at the newsstand,” they mean while browsing magazines for sale.