inventory

American  

[in-vuhn-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈɪn vənˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

• inventories
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

• inventories,
  present (3rd person singular)
• inventoried,
  past participle,  past
• inventorying
  present participle

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)

• inventories,
  present (3rd person singular)
• inventoried,
  past participle,  past
• inventorying
  present participle

1. to have value as shown by an inventory.

   stock that inventories at two million dollars.

inventory British  

/ -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

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verb

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

inventory Cultural  

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

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Usage

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?

Synonym Usage

See list ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• inventories
  plural

Participles

• inventorying
  present
• inventoried
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• inventory
  simple
• inventories
  simple
• have inventoried
  perfect
• has inventoried
  perfect
• am inventorying
  progressive
• are inventorying
  progressive
• is inventorying
  progressive
• have been inventorying
  perfect progressive
• has been inventorying
  perfect progressive

Past

• inventoried
  simple
• had inventoried
  perfect
• was inventorying
  progressive
• were inventorying
  progressive
• had been inventorying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will inventory
  simple
• will have inventoried
  perfect
• will be inventorying
  progressive
• will have been inventorying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of inventory

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

Explanation

An inventory is an itemized list of everything you have. So you better take inventory of what’s in the fridge before going grocery shopping. Otherwise you'll end up with more jars of mustard that you don't need. The noun form of inventory developed in the early 15th century from the Middle French inventaire, meaning “detailed list of goods.” It's most commonly used in retail: a shop's inventory is everything that they have in stock, ready to sell. You can also use inventory as a verb when you want to describe the act of listing out the merchandise or supplies you have on hand.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inventory inventories inventoried inventorying

Additional inventory across every sport will be added during the next stage and ticket limits will be lifted, but LA28 did not announce the opening date.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Despite ongoing challenges in the Middle East, this marked the second-largest crude inventory build in history, according to Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

These companies may try to absorb some of the cost to protect their market share and work through existing inventory.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

U.S. natural gas futures rose ahead of weekly inventory data, supported by hotter weather forecasts for much of the next two weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Before going to bed himself, Scoob went outside and took inventory of their surroundings.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

The market had shrugged off yesterday’s small weekly storage injection as inventories remain well above average.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

“Across our business, early order program trends, improving used-equipment inventories, and increasing customer adoption of our advanced technologies give us confidence that Deere is well positioned for long-term value creation,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

They continue to offer incentives and even price reductions in some markets as they try to unload their housing inventories and counter tepid demand.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

A surprise build in U.S. commercial crude inventories also helped keep oil futures in check last week.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

Many nights after the door was locked and the shutters closed, I sat on in the flickering gaslight, poring over old inventories and wholesalers’ statements.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The proposal would rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, enacted in the final days of the Clinton administration, which barred development across vast areas of public forests and grasslands designated as "inventoried roadless areas."

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

“Helfenstein also evaluated and inventoried looted items, and arranged for their packing and shipment to Germany.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

In total, the rescission would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the nearly 60 million acres of inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest system, she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2025

The model, called AviTeam, is the first to provide information for the 45 lesser-developed countries that have never inventoried their greenhouse gas emissions from aviation.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 30, 2024

Once my trip was booked, I inventoried everything in my hideout and packed the items I wanted to take with me into an old rucksack.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

The plan provides for the inventorying and storage of its remaining heavy weapons under Palestinian supervision, potentially removing the most significant obstacle to advancing the Trump-backed peace initiative for Gaza.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

"Carbon inventorying is still an evolving science," said Yunyu Zhang, lead author and graduate student from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2024

In a April 2021 executive order, President Joe Biden told the US Forest Service to start inventorying and protecting the 150-year-old "old-growth" forests which face logging threats.

From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2023

One by one, family members and friends speak this line to Vanya before inventorying their own monumental unhappiness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2023

She held me at arm’s length, inventorying every little new freckle, every extra pound.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

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