LIFO
Americannoun
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Computers. a data storage and retrieval technique, usually implemented using a queue, in which the last item stored is the first item retrieved.
acronym
Etymology
Origin of LIFO
l(ast) i(n,) f(irst) o(ut)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The company said the decrease in gross margin was driven by a 212-basis point, non-cash impact from an accounting-related charge known as LIFO.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
In 2002, Amazon changed the way it accounted for inventory, from the last-in first-out, or LIFO, system to first-in first-out, or FIFO.
From BusinessWeek • Oct. 10, 2013
With last-in-first-out, or LIFO, companies can assume for cost accounting that their most recently acquired inventory, usually the most expensive, was sold first.
From Reuters • Jul. 25, 2011
Last week Manhattan's R. H. Macy & Co. won a test case in court against the Government that reaffirmed its right to use LIFO, entitled it to tax refunds that may total $9,000,000.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
