Net Income Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2019	Dec. 01, 2018
Net Income Per Share [Abstract]
Net income attributable to MSC Industrial	$ 65,418	$ 74,232
Less: Distributed net income available to participating securities	(7)	(20)
Less: Undistributed net income available to participating securities	(5)	(33)
Undistributed and distributed net income available to common shareholders	65,406	74,179
Add: Undistributed net income allocated to participating securities	5	33
Less: Undistributed net income reallocated to participating securities	(5)	(33)
Undistributed and distributed net income available to common shareholders	$ 65,406	$ 74,179
Weighted average shares outstanding for basic net income per share	55,275	55,502
Effect of dilutive securities	169	329
Weighted average shares outstanding for diluted net income per share	55,444	55,831
Basic	$ 1.18	$ 1.34
Diluted	$ 1.18	$ 1.33
Potentially dilutive securities	1,557	408