stock-in-trade
noun
ˌstäk-ən-ˈtrād 
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
The post was a joke, and perhaps an effective one, maximizing the distance between Studio Ghibli’s tender, bittersweet, profoundly human ethos and the gleeful, dehumanizing viciousness that is Trump’s stock-in-trade.
—
Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
The Beyoncé who once delivered some of the big ballads that are more the stock-in-trade of her closest diva equivalents is still in hibernation, surely to return someday, but not just yet.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
Fascism fascination for gamers Juvenile nihilism is Bong Joon-ho’s stock-in-trade.
—Armond White, National Review, 12 Mar. 2025
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
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Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
The Beyoncé who once delivered some of the big ballads that are more the stock-in-trade of her closest diva equivalents is still in hibernation, surely to return someday, but not just yet.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
Fascism fascination for gamers Juvenile nihilism is Bong Joon-ho’s stock-in-trade.
—Armond White, National Review, 12 Mar. 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Stock-in-trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stock-in-trade. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
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