Consolidated Statements Of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Aug. 29, 2020	Aug. 31, 2019	Sep. 01, 2018
Consolidated Statements Of Income [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 3,192,399	$ 3,363,817	$ 3,203,878
Cost of goods sold	1,849,077	1,931,774	1,810,917
Gross profit	1,343,322	1,432,043	1,392,961
Operating expenses	992,582	1,032,047	972,408
Income from operations	350,740	399,996	420,553
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(16,673)	(16,890)	(14,463)
Interest income	333	518	647
Other (expense) income, net	(150)	(495)	(548)
Total other expense	(16,490)	(16,867)	(14,364)
Income before provision for income taxes	334,250	383,129	406,189
Provision for income taxes	82,492	94,332	76,966
Net income	251,758	288,797	329,223
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest	641	(68)
Net income attributable to MSC Industrial	$ 251,117	$ 288,865	$ 329,223
Net income per common share:
Basic	$ 4.53	$ 5.23	$ 5.84
Diluted	$ 4.51	$ 5.20	$ 5.80
Weighted average shares used in computing net income per common share:
Basic	55,472	55,245	56,355
Diluted	55,643	55,508	56,707