Stock
Etymology
From Old English "stocc" (tree trunk, stump, post). The sense widened to a stored supply or fund, and then to the capital fund of a company — the trunk from which growth springs. It is the same word found in "livestock" and "gunstock", each a different offshoot of the original trunk.
noun · /STOK/
A share of ownership in a company, entitling the holder to part of its profits and value.
What it names
A slice of a business you can buy and sell — ownership turned into a tradable unit whose price rises and falls with the company’s fortunes.
Example
He bought a few shares of the company’s stock and watched the price double over two years.
Related idea
Distinguish a bond: owning stock makes you a partial owner with unlimited upside and real risk of loss, while a bond makes you a lender with capped, contractual returns — ownership versus lending.
noun · /STOK/
A savory liquid made by simmering bones, meat, or vegetables, used as a base for soups and sauces.
What it names
The flavorful foundation built before a dish even begins, wholly apart from shares of company ownership.
Example
She simmered the chicken carcass for hours to make a rich stock.
Related idea
Distinct from a finished broth you would sip on its own, stock is the unseasoned foundation simmered from bones — the base a dish is built on, worlds away from a share of a company.
noun · /STOK/
The supply of goods a business keeps on hand to sell or use.
What it names
What is physically available right now — the goods in the storeroom or on the shelf (‘in stock,’ ‘out of stock’).
Example
The new phone sold out, and they are waiting on fresh stock.
Related idea
A cache is a hidden or emergency store; stock is the open, working supply meant to be sold or used and constantly replenished.
adjective · /STOK/
Standard, routine, or so commonly used as to be unoriginal.
What it names
It flags something kept ready-made and reused without thought — a stock phrase, a stock character, a stock answer.
Example
‘We’ll look into it’ was his stock reply to every complaint.
Related idea
A cliche is a phrase worn out by overuse and a stereotype is a fixed image of a group; ‘stock’ overlaps with both but stresses being kept on hand as a default, like boilerplate text pulled off the shelf.