Document And Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Mar. 02, 2013	Apr. 04, 2013 Class A Common Stock [Member]	Apr. 04, 2013 Class B Common Stock [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 02, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Registrant Name	MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001003078
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--08-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		48,492,634	14,800,294