Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - stock

~1 n 1 »SUPPLIES« 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« 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) technical a share2 (5) in a company b) the total value of a company's shares (share2 (5)) 4 »COOKING« a liquid made by boiling meat or bones and vegetables, which is used to make soups etc  (chicken stock) 5 »AMOUNT AVAILABLE« 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« 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« 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« an official document promising that a government will pay back the money it has borrowed with a fixed amount of interest1 (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« 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« 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 laugh1 (9), lock, stock, and barrel lock2 (3), rolling stock) ~2 v 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  (rivers stocked with trout)  (- see also well­stocked) stock up phr v to buy a lot of something to use when you need to + on  (We stocked up on wine when we went to Paris.) ~3 adj 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)