General - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
	Feb. 13, 2016 USD ($)
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Description of reporting periods	Operating results for the twelve and twenty-four weeks ended February 13, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending August 27, 2016. Each of the first three quarters of AutoZone’s fiscal year consists of 12 weeks, and the fourth quarter consists of 16 or 17 weeks. The fourth quarters for fiscal 2016 and 2015 each have 16 weeks. Additionally, the Company’s business is somewhat seasonal in nature, with the highest sales generally occurring during the months of February through September and the lowest sales generally occurring in the months of December and January.
Deferred income tax liabilities, noncurrent	$ 248,653
Accounting Standards Update 2015-07 [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Deferred income tax assets, noncurrent	3,500
Deferred income tax liabilities, noncurrent	$ 251,200
First Quarter [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Quarter period of fiscal year	84 days
Second Quarter [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Quarter period of fiscal year	84 days
Third Quarter [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Quarter period of fiscal year	84 days
Fourth Quarter [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Quarter period of fiscal year	112 days
Fourth Quarter [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Quarter period of fiscal year	119 days