inventory

[in-vuhn-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

noun

plural

inventories 

1. a complete listing of merchandise or stock on hand, work in progress, raw materials, finished goods on hand, etc., made each year by a business concern.

2. the objects or items represented on such a list, as a merchant's stock of goods.

3. the aggregate value of a stock of goods.

4. raw material from the time of its receipt at an industrial plant for manufacturing purposes to the time it is sold.

5. a detailed, often descriptive, list of articles, giving the code number, quantity, and value of each; catalog.

   Synonyms: account, register, record, roster

6. a formal list of movables, as of a merchant's stock of goods.

7. a formal list of the property of a person or estate.

8. a tally of one's personality traits, aptitudes, skills, etc., for use in counseling and guidance.

9. a catalog of natural resources, especially a count or estimate of wildlife and game in a particular area.

10. the act of making a catalog or detailed listing.

verb (used with object)

inventoried, inventorying 

1. to make an inventory of; enter in an inventory; catalog.

2. to take stock of; evaluate.

   to inventory one's life and accomplishments.

3. to summarize.

   to inventory the progress in chemistry.

4. to keep an available supply of (merchandise); stock.

verb (used without object)

inventoried, inventorying 

1. to have value as shown by an inventory.

   stock that inventories at two million dollars.

inventory

/ -trɪ, ˈɪnvəntərɪ /

noun

1. a detailed list of articles, goods, property, etc

2. (often plural) accounting

   1. the amount or value of a firm's current assets that consist of raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods; stock

   2. such assets individually

verb

1. (tr) to enter (items) in an inventory; make a list of

inventory

1. An itemized list of a firm's goods that have not yet been sold.

Other Word Forms

• inventoriable adjective
• inventorial adjective
• inventorially adverb
• overinventoried adjective
• preinventory noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inventory¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English inventorie, from Medieval Latin inventōrium; invent, -tory ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of inventory¹

C16: from Medieval Latin inventōrium; see _invent

Synonym Study

See list ¹.

Example Sentences

Good news for you: Pricing was in line with past years’ entries, largely thanks to tech-friendly exceptions and well-stocked domestic inventory.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The model must track inventory, place orders and set prices in order to make money in the simulation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The “Anthology” project found its origins in the early 1970s when Beatles insiders Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans began compiling “Scrapbook,” their rudimentary attempt at taking an audiovisual inventory of the group’s history.

Read more on Salon

If someone takes inventory of their valuable items and decides ahead of time who will get what when they die, it will eliminate most family drama.

Read more on MarketWatch

In the U.S., oil inventory at the Cushing Oil Hub, a critical oil shipping nexus located in Oklahoma, remains stubbornly low, yet local prices aren’t surging in the way they once did.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• backlog 
• fund 
• index 
• reserve 
• stockpile 
• supply 

When To Use

What does inventory mean?

An inventory is a complete list of all merchandise or stock of items owned by or available from a business.At a store, an inventory is the complete list of all items for sale at the store. At a manufacturer, an inventory is a complete list of all the raw materials they have, as well as finished items and items being created.An inventory is also the specific set of products to sell, as in The store’s inventory of superhero capes is running low and will probably sell out soon.An inventory can also refer to figurative belongings, such as a person’s personality traits and skills.To inventory means to add things to an inventory list, whether a literal or figurative list, as in I inventoried my options for colleges and chose the school I’ll attend next year.Example: Can you take inventory tonight so we can be ready for the rush tomorrow?