stock

1 noun

1 SUPPLIES (C) also stocks plural a supply of something that you keep and can use when you need to: stocks of flour and sugar | build up a stock: The country has been building up its stock of weapons.

2 IN A SHOP (C, U) a supply of a particular type of thing that a shop has to sell: Buy now while stocks last! | out of/in stock (=unavailable or available in a particular shop): I'm sorry, that swimsuit is completely out of stock in your size. | take stock (=check and count the goods in a shop)

3 FINANCE

a) (C) technical a share 2 (5) in a company

b) (U) the total value of a company's shares (share2 (5))

4 COOKING (C, U) a liquid made by boiling meat or bones and vegetables, which is used to make soups etc: chicken stock

5 AMOUNT AVAILABLE (singular) also stocks plural the total amount of something that is available to be used in a particular area: Cod stocks in the North Atlantic have dropped radically.

6 ANIMALS (U) farm animals, especially cattle; livestock

7 take stock (of sth) to think carefully about the things that have happened in a situation in order to decide what to do next: Turning 40 is a time to take stock of your life.

8 be of peasant/Protestant/Scottish stock etc to be related to a particular type of family in the past

9 sb's stock is high/low if someone's stock is high or low, they are very popular or very unpopular: The government's stock was high just before the election.

10 FLOWER (C) a plant with pink, white, or light purple flowers and a sweet smell

11 PLANT

a) a plant that you can cut stems off to make new plants grow

b) a thick part of a stem onto which another plant can be added so that the two plants grow together

12 DOCUMENT (C) an official document promising that a government will pay back the money it has borrowed with a fixed amount of interest 1 (4)

13 a stock of jokes/knowledge/courage etc the jokes, knowledge etc that someone knows or has: John seems to have an inexhaustible stock of funny stories.

14 the stocks

a) a wooden structure in a public place to which criminals were fastened by their feet or hands in former times

b) a wooden structure in which a ship is held while it is being built

15 ACTORS (C) AmE a stock company (2): summer stock (=a group of actors who work together on several plays during the summer) | do stock (=work as an actor in this group): Jim's doing stock in Northern California.

16 CLOTHING (C) a wide band of cloth worn around the neck so that the ends hang in front of your chest, especially by some priests

—see also: laughing stock laugh 1 (9), lock, stock, and barrel lock 2 (3), rolling stock 2 verb (T)

1 if a shop stocks a particular product, it keeps a supply of it to be sold: Do you stock English wines?

2 to provide a supply of something so that it is ready to use: The fridge was stocked with all the butter and eggs needed for the Christmas baking.

3 to put fish in a lake or river

(+ with): rivers stocked with trout —see also: well­stocked stock up phrasal verb (I) to buy a lot of something to use when you need to (+ on): We stocked up on wine when we went to Paris. 3 adjective

1 stock excuse/question/remark etc an excuse etc that people often say or use, especially when they cannot think of anything more interesting or original

2 (only before noun) kept in a shop as goods to be sold: shoes in all the stock sizes