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  

/ ˈɪnvəntərɪ, -trɪ /

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

It was all part of a gargantuan effort to stitch together a comprehensive inventory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

In the store’s final days, steep discounts to clear inventory didn’t draw a flood of customers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

The retailer needs a "mid-air engine swap" to rebuild its supply chain on diversified inventory sources beyond shipping directly from China, he added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Once fully operational, the observatory is expected to vastly expand scientists’ inventory of planets outside our solar system, increasing it from about 6,300 planets to more than 100,000.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

For the first time in my life I had long stretches in which to learn—without having to scrap, or strain tinctures, or check inventory for Randy.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

The U.S. military still holds vast inventories of short-range offensive missiles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

TrendForce says key components now account for a much larger share of production costs than a year ago, while inventories purchased at lower prices are gradually running out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

A crisis may create opportunities for adversaries elsewhere, increasing pressure on finite inventories of weapons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

When inventories are limited, planners reduce requirements to make them appear adequate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Other times he ran messages, stood at guard, mucked out stables, fletched arrows, assisted Maester Aemon with his birds or Bowen Marsh with his counts and inventories.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

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

I inventoried my missing duffel, mentally taking the clothes out and placing them on the broad soft rug of my dad’s living room.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

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