stock
/stɒk
/noun
1 [mass noun] The goods or merchandise kept on the premises of a shop or warehouse and available for sale or distribution: the store has a very low turnover of stock [count noun]: buy now, while stocks last! [as modifier]: stock shortages...
- Co-op stores around Swindon have been running low on stock after a regional distribution warehouse in Oxford was flooded.
- He thought the thieves would dispose of the shop's stock at car boot sales or use them for family gifts.
- We are always looking for willing volunteers to help with everything from sorting and preparing stock to merchandising and sales.
Synonyms
merchandise, goods, wares, items/articles for sale, commodities
rare vendibles
1.1A supply or quantity of something accumulated or available for future use: I need to replenish my stock of wine [count noun]: fish stocks are being dangerously depleted...
- The fish killed were salmon parr (one year old) and trout which would have been the future stock of the river.
- Back at the hospital the emergency wards were soon back in action, and the hospital's stock of basic supplies and drugs were replenished from the ships.
- It is also putting greater pressure on the State to increase its stock of housing.
Synonyms
store, supply, stockpile, reserve, hoard, cache, reservoir, accumulation, quantity, pile, heap, load;
fund, bank, pool, mine, repertoire, repertory, inventory;
collection, selection, assortment, variety, range
rare amassment
1.2Farm animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep, bred and kept for their meat or milk; livestock: all the stock were housed and fed in sheds the sale of dairy stock...
- Perhaps he would enthusiastically support moves for greater commercial use of kangaroos, rather than the hoofed stock, sheep and cattle, that break the crust.
- Other potential agricultural applications of Fantesk include sprays, coatings for nursery stock, and livestock feed additives.
- The club also organizes visits to leading dairy farms and research institutes, holds dairy stock judging events and herds competitions.
Synonyms
livestock, farm animals, cattle, beasts;
cows, sheep, pigs, horses, oxen, goats;
flocks, herds
1.3 short for rolling stock.The railways are a shambles - Railtrack's stock was declared near worthless in the City this week....
- The first challenge is to get rid of the Mark I slam-door stock.
- But all those potential bonanzas could be derailed if Mass Transit Railway stock goes off track.
Synonyms
rolling stock, trains, locomotives, carriages, wagons;
machinery, equipment, apparatus, appliances, implements
1.4 (also film stock) Photographic film that has not been exposed or processed.It is the technological body - the film camera, film stock, photographic camera and computer - that make possible this frenzy of the visible....
- Black and white do not exist, they creep into the story due to the unpredictable magic of film processing or defective film stock.
- The camera work echoes a spent, pared down existence in its washed out, Russian-made and processed film stock.
1.5(In some card games) the cards that have not yet been dealt, left on the table to be drawn.The remaining stock of undealt cards is put face down on the table to form the talon....
- Anyone who passes must draw a card from the undealt stock and add it to their hand.
- If you cannot or do not wish to play, you draw a card from the undealt stock and add it to your hand.
2 [mass noun] The capital raised by a company or corporation through the issue and subscription of shares: between 1982 and 1986 the value of the company’s stock rose by 86%...
- On the basis of these balance sheets, stock was issued and thereby the capital raised for the planned development.
- In the case of capital markets, stock prices signal investors with different appetites for risk where to put their money.
- A stock option gives you the right to buy a set number of shares of company stock at a specified price.
Synonyms
capital, funds, assets, property
2.1 (usually stocks) A portion of a company’s stock as held by an individual or group as an investment: she owned £3000 worth of stocks and shares...
- Investments like stocks, businesses and real estate are much harder to hide.
- Nowadays the middle classes are just as likely to have accumulated quoted investments, like stocks, bank accounts and other assets.
- Lower rates make savings accounts less appealing and investments like houses or stocks more attractive.
2.2 (usually stocks) The shares of a particular company, type of company, or industry: blue-chip stocks...
- In most balanced funds, blue-chip stocks and high-quality bonds are the staples.
- A late afternoon surge in tech stocks drove the Nasdaq index 37 points higher to close at 1,708.
- Led by the declines of PCCW and HKT, the Hang Seng Index fell, with telecom stocks and China enterprise shares losing most.
Synonyms
investments, shares, holdings, securities, equities, bonds;
portfolio
2.3 (also government stock) (In the UK) securities issued by the government in fixed units with a fixed rate of interest: government gilt-edged stock...
- Some cite technical factors, such as growing pension fund switches to fixed interest stocks, bidding up 10-year bonds and driving down the yield.
- Here, too, supply/demand imbalances are at work, partly caused by a stampede of life companies and pension funds out of equities and into fixed interest stocks.
- The reason for a with profits fund to be more heavily invested in shares than in fixed interest stocks is not a product of caprice or thoughtless gambling.
2.4A person’s reputation or popularity: I felt I was right, but my stock was low with this establishment...
- Knowing my stock was low with him because of my skirts and sway back, I offered to let the Company CO make the call.
Synonyms
reputation, standing, status, repute, position
3 [mass noun] Liquid made by cooking bones, meat, fish, or vegetables slowly in water, used as a basis for the preparation of soup, gravy, or sauces: a pint of chicken stock...
- Use the caramel-colored water for soup, stock and gravy.
- Keep the basics on hand: frozen marinara and pesto for quick pasta meals, and a simple vegetable or chicken stock for fast soups.
- Even the soup of the day is an intentional creation, using freshly prepared vegetables and stock with fresh meat, fowl, or fish added.
Synonyms
broth;
French bouillon
3.1 [with modifier] The raw material from which a specified commodity can be manufactured: the fat can be used as soap stock...
- Posters are made using paper stock similar to what magazines use.
- Here is a method for manufacturing tape tab stock that may be used to produce tape tab fasteners for disposable absorbent articles
- Then the agitation stops and the soap stock settles to the bottom
4 [mass noun, usually with adjective or noun modifier] A person’s ancestry or line of descent: her mother was of French stock...
- The Dogras inhabiting the hilly tract bounding the mountains of the Kashmir Valle on the south and extending to the plains of the Punjab, are descended from Aryan stock.
- During these difficult times he was faithfully supported and encouraged by his wife, who was descended from good Puritan stock.
- Much of my Yorkshire stock descended from the Viking Raids of the 9th century.
Synonyms
descent, ancestry, origin(s), parentage, pedigree, lineage, line, line of descent, heritage, birth, extraction, background, family, blood, bloodline, genealogy, beginnings
rare filiation, stirps
4.1A breed, variety, or population of an animal or plant: the vineyards were ploughed up and replanted using different vine stock [count noun]: geographically separate stocks of some species are recognized...
- Always try to plant bare-root stock as soon as you get home.
- With container grown stock, the plant has been growing in a container for a period of time.
- Yet, there are many budget-minded owners who still believe that money can be saved by planting smaller seedling stock.
5The trunk or woody stem of a living tree or shrub, especially one into which a graft (scion) is inserted.Many of the modern roses in commerce today are grafted onto these stocks....
- Of particular concern are roses grafted onto R. fortuniana root stocks - stocks with notoriously shallow root zones.
- Grey rectangles indicate the presence of a rooted stock.
Synonyms
trunk, tree trunk, stem, stalk
technical caudex
5.1The perennial part of a herbaceous plant, especially a rhizome.The role of the underground metameric complex in the source-sink system of perennial rhizome-forming cereals is determined by a significant proportion of rhizomes in plant biomass (3050%), formation of a large amount of meristems in the underground stock of vegetative reproduction (more than 1000 per plant), a comparatively high respiration rate (1.5 mg CO2/(g dry wt h)), and a high nitrogen content (3.5%).
6A herbaceous European plant that is cultivated for its fragrant lilac, pink, or white flowers.
Mid 17th century: from stock-gillyflower
- Genus Matthiola, family Cruciferae: several species, in particular the Brompton stock (M. incana) and the night-scented stock (M. bicornis).
- They hold pink cyclamen, maidenhair fern, pink polka-dot plant, and fragrant pink stock.
- Yellow and orange calendulas bloom through winter, as will pink and white English daisies and sweet-scented stock.
7 (the stocks) [treated as singular or plural] historical An instrument of punishment consisting of an adjustable wooden structure with holes for securing a person’s feet and hands, in which criminals were locked and exposed to public ridicule or assault.Every confinement of the person is an imprisonment, whether it be in a common prison, or in a private house, or in the stocks, or even by forcibly detaining one in the public streets....
- A believer in strict discipline, he preferred forms of punishment like putting a prisoner in stocks or shackling him to a ball and chain.
- Among the other stunts for charity, they plan to don wet suits at Sea World and get in the stocks at Stirling Jail.
8The part of a rifle or other firearm to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, held against one’s shoulder when firing the gun.It halved the rifle where the stock joined the barrel, and two fingers from the weasel's right paw fell to the forest floor....
- Rolling left to lie prone, I shoved the rifle stock to my shoulder and dared to reconnoiter by peeping over a twisted root.
- Making a splint from a rifle stock, he again treated himself and managed to crawl back to an aid station.
Synonyms
handle, butt, haft, grip, shaft, shank, helve
8.1The crossbar of an anchor.Because the mushroom anchor has no projecting stock or flukes to foul, the moored object can swing freely around a mushroom anchor.
8.2The handle of something such as a whip or fishing rod.The silky voice became a bark as he fingered the stock of a whip lying across his knees.
8.3 short for headstock (sense 1).The tool was lacquered after assembly, no coating being present between the side piece and the stock.
8.4 short for tailstock.The stock is revolved, as in the first case, by means of a cord in the hands of an assistant.
9A band of white material tied like a cravat and worn as a part of formal horse-riding dress.He wore a stock which had been the last word of fashion at the time of the July revolution.
9.1A piece of black material worn under a clerical collar.The chess-board was brought out, and Mr. Elliot, who wore a stock instead of a collar as a sign of convalescence, but was otherwise much as usual, challenged Mr. Pepper to a final contest.
10 (stocks) A frame used to support a ship or boat out of water, especially when under construction.After bracing the bulkheads to the stocks, the longitudinal framing can start going on.
adjective [attributive]
1(Of a product or type of product) usually kept in stock and thus regularly available for sale: 25 per cent off stock items...
- In a few short years, EAW succeeded in developing stock products that regional and national sound companies could use right out of the carton.
- From April 1st through the 30th, many of our stock items are on sale with prices 20-50% lower than their regular prices.
- I'm not proposing that you should spend $50 or whatever to buy a stock logo.
2(Of a phrase or expression) so regularly used as to be automatic or hackneyed: she faltered momentarily and then resorted to the teenager’s favourite stock response ‘whatever’...
- We're just tired of having stock phrases and ideas trotted out every time an artist work is shown.
- This innocuous-sounding stock phrase impliedly relieves the driver of responsibility for causing the resulting death and destruction.
- Instead, given the weak public reaction, he faces reconsidering his long-held reliance on repeated use of stock phrases.
2.1Denoting a conventional character type or situation that recurs in a particular genre of literature, theatre, or film: the stock characters in every cowboy film...
- You have a range of stock film characters who can be played by different actors.
- Either way, it is good to see the prince's tutor involved with his charge, and not just dressing the stage as a stock comedy character.
- Unfortunately, the dialogue comes from a cast of stock horror characters who spit out clichés like bilge water.
Synonyms
usual, routine, predictable, set, standard, staple, customary, familiar, conventional, traditional, stereotyped, clichéd, hackneyed, unoriginal, derivative, formulaic, ready-made, well worn, overused, overworked, worn out, banal, trite, platitudinous, tired, run-of-the-mill, commonplace
informal corny, old hat, hacky
2.2Denoting or relating to cinematic footage that can be regularly used in different productions, typically that of outdoor scenes used to add realism to a production shot in an indoor set.Giant avalanches, tidal waves, and many stock footage scenes of buildings collapsing result....
- Establishing shots and stock footage of the ships at Le Havre are uniformly muddy, grainy, and prone to flicker.
- This would use drawings, water colours, stock footage, scenes extracted from the transcript of the Trial.
verb [with object]
1Have or keep a supply of (a particular product or type or product) available for sale: most supermarkets now stock a range of organic produce...
- The High Street giant wants to add potency to its sales performance by stocking products which would really set pulses racing.
- The shortbread is seen as a luxury product principally stocked by dollar-based supermarkets.
- She did a roaring mail-order trade and stocked her products in ‘fine’ chemists.
Synonyms
sell, market;
supply, keep, keep in stock, have, have for sale, carry, handle;
offer, provide;
trade in, deal in
1.1Provide or fill with goods, items, or a supply of something: I must stock up the fridge (as adjective, with submodifier or in combination stocked) a well-stocked shop...
- Muleteers provide aid stations stocked with Peruvian cheese sandwiches, coca tea, and other energy foods along every trail; camps await runners at the end of each day.
- Like any analog-oriented operation, Remote Recording is stocked with loads of outboard gear and 200 microphones from all major manufacturers.
- The Blue Horizon was stocked with a large supply of caffeinated drinks and she was delighted to have so much to live on.
Synonyms
supply, provide, equip, furnish, provision
1.2 [no object] (stock up) Amass supplies of something, typically for a particular occasion or purpose: I’m stocking up for Christmas you’d better stock up with fuel...
- At Fenwick's in Coppergate, store chiefs stocked up on huge supplies of hats in preparation for the week, with race-goers buying headgear right up to the last minute.
- Long lines quickly formed at grocery stores and gas stations, as worried residents stocked up on supplies.
- While stocking up on business supplies, she also continued to amass victories in tae kwon do.
Synonyms
fill, fill up, load, restock, replenish
amass supplies of, obtain a store of, buy up, stockpile, lay in, put away, put aside, put down, store up, collect, gather, accumulate, hoard, cache
informal squirrel away, salt away, stash away
2Fit (a rifle or other firearm) with a stock: it was a fine gun which he forged, stocked, and completed himself...
- The guns are stocked with a good grade of Turkish walnut and the barrel selector is on the tang safety, which incidentally is nonautomatic.
- The pistol is ivory stocked of course, with original 1950 Colt medallions massaged neatly into the stock panels.
- In the early '50s most rifles, even bolt actions, were stocked for use with iron sights with considerable drop at comb and heel.
Phrases
in (or out of) stock
on the stocks
put stock in
stock and station
take stock
Derivatives
stockless
- I have seen more than one guy bash his teeth out holding the stockless gun up near their face while shooting.
- Hospitals also need to see whether the savings from going stockless are greater than the extra charges.
- This applies in stock-based rotations, and is of course the basis for stockless rotations.
Origin
Old English stoc(c) 'trunk, block of wood, post', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stok and German Stock 'stick'. The notion 'store, fund' (sense 1 of the noun and sense 2 of the noun) arose in late Middle English and is of obscure origin, perhaps expressing ‘growth from a central stem’ or ‘firm foundation’.