stock

Pronunciation

• enPR: stŏk, IPA ^(key): /stɒk/
• SAMPA: /stQk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophones: stork, stalk

Noun

Singular stock

Plural stocks

1. (countable & uncountable) Your stock is the collection of things that you have available, usually to sell.

   It depend on where the store got its stock from.

   Storms cause a great deal of damage to the nation's housing stock.

   Going out of business! All stock must be sold.

   They kept a stock of food in the basement.

   Publishing such experiments adds to our stock of knowledge.

   Police found a stock of weapons in the house.

   I asked the stock boy where to find the juice.

   Overfishing has wiped out much of the world's fish stocks.

2. (countable) A stock is a share in a public company.

   ETFs are mutual funds that trade on stock exchanges, just as stocks do.

   He invests 85% of his money in bonds and 15% in stocks.

   The S&P 500 index, which tracks stocks in all sectors of the economy, remains virtually unchanged.

   The prices for all three stocks are likely to decline.

3. If something is in stock it is at the store and available for sale.

   I think we have five more in stock.

4. If something is out of stock it is not at the store and available for sale.

   I'm sorry, we're all out of stock.

5. (uncountable) Stock is a basic soup made from boiling meat, bones, or vegetables.

   Add a cup of chicken stock and half a cup of cream and cook for 10 minutes.

6. If you take stock of a situation, you think about it and plan what to do next.

Synonyms

• store
• collection

Related words

• livestock
• stock exchange
• stock market
• stock broker
• stock option
• stock boy
• rolling stock

Verb

Plain form stock

Third-person singular stocks

Past tense stocked

Past participle stocked

Present participle stocking

1. (transitive) If a store stocks a product, it has it available to be sold.

   They are expensive, and most stores won't stock them.

2. (transitive) If you stock $x$ with $y$, you fill $x$ with $y$.

   I've stocked the fridge with beer for the party.

3. If you stock up on something, you get more than you use in a short time.

   Residents there are stocking up on food and water for the winter.

Synonyms

• keep
• provide
• sell
• carry
• supply

Adjective

Positive stock

Comparative none

Superlative none

1. If something is stock, it is the usual one with no special changes or additions.

   The car's engine, tires, brakes and steering are all stock.

   The stories are boring and rely on stock characters.

   Just get any stock photo of a business meeting.

Synonyms

• normal
• standard
• typical
• ordinary
• routine
• run-of-the-mill

Related words

• stock photo
• stock character
• stock car