livestock

American  

[lahyv-stok] / ˈlaɪvˌstɒk /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. the horses, cattle, sheep, and other useful animals kept or raised on a farm or ranch.

---

livestock British  

/ ˈlaɪvˌstɒk /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) cattle, horses, poultry, and similar animals kept for domestic use but not as pets, esp on a farm or ranch

---

Etymology

Origin of livestock

First recorded in 1650–60; live ² + stock

Explanation

The animals you find on a farm are collectively called livestock. Your herd of dairy goats are livestock, but your toy poodle is just a pet. Livestock are distinguished from other animals by the fact that they're domesticated and raised for food or money — if you get wool, milk, meat, or eggs from animals, they're livestock. The word comes from the sense of stock that means "supply for future use" or "sum of money; from the 1500s, this word was also used to mean "movable property of a farm."

Example Sentences

Since then farms, factories, radio stations, livestock and thousands of family businesses have been expropriated.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

By 1966, the United States had eradicated screwworms, but livestock remained vulnerable to reinfestation from screwworms migrating from Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

"I'm aware the vast majority of farmers dispose of fallen livestock responsibly and many share my disgust, but this is wrong and we need to see people apprehended for it", he said.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

The U.S. halted all livestock imports from Mexico during an outbreak in May 2025, and the ban remains in place.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

The pages were filled with his handwritten notes and hand-drawn diagrams about raising livestock and growing crops and building barns, about working the land with the help of strong animals and simple machines.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• herd
• oxen