stock-in-trade

noun

ˌstäk-ən-ˈtrād How to pronounce stock-in-trade (audio)
ˈstäk-ən-ˌtrād
1
: the equipment, merchandise, or materials necessary to or used in a trade or business
2
: something that resembles the standard equipment of a tradesman or business
humor was her stock-in-trade as a writer

Examples of stock-in-trade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Cue a number of the boozy mealtime scenes that are Hong’s stock-in-trade, as Jeong invites Sieon for lunch at her favorite eel restaurant, followed by further, fluttery-eyed lunch and dinner dates, with Jeonim as an increasingly passive-aggressive third wheel. Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024 Commentators from around the world, not to mention the French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, were quick to dismiss this last appointment, quoting some of Johnson’s gaffes, which are the stock-in-trade of this former London mayor and newspaper columnist. Tim Cullen, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2016 Under the auspices of veteran programmer and interim festival director Nam Dong-chul, the lineup continues Busan’s stock-in-trade of Asian film and talent discovery. Patrick Frater, Variety, 4 Oct. 2023 Canet is unexpectedly affecting as Mathieu’s debonair charm, for so long his stock-in-trade, suddenly seems inadequate in the face of Alice’s honesty, just as his career insecurities feel trivial. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2023 Insights like this—surprising, personal, a bit ornery, and which thoroughly reconsider and reframe our relationship to food—are Kennedy’s stock-in-trade. Hazlitt, 16 Aug. 2023 Mostly, though, Ted was just lurking on the periphery of other characters’ stories, looking sad, and only occasionally even offering the sort of corny but endearing dad jokes that were his previous stock-in-trade. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 31 May 2023 That experience, though, helped their set, which filled the Gobi tent with the type of can’t-stand-still-dancing exuberance that’s become Chromeo’s stock-in-trade. Jeff Miller, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1721, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stock-in-trade was in 1721

Dictionary Entries Near stock-in-trade

Cite this Entry

“Stock-in-trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stock-in-trade. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Legal Definition

stock in trade

: the equipment, merchandise, or materials necessary to or used in a trade or business
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