livestock
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of livestock
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."
Vocabulary lists containing livestock
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Down on the Farm
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The United States
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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.
Mamta said collecting enough water for her 11-member family and their livestock took hours.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The term originated from ranchers who owned herds of cattle taking out futures contracts betting that the price of their livestock would rise—instead of taking the opposite position to limit risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Bears don’t like conflict. They like it easy. So the livestock issue, while fear is a real response if you are a livestock producer, can be mitigated … that’s not a deal breaker.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Across recorded history, they have hunted beside us, guarded homes, carried loads, managed livestock and provided companionship.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Francesco will receive the whole estate, with all its land and livestock.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
