livestock

American  

[lahyv-stok] / ˈlaɪvˌstɒk /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. the horses, cattle, sheep, and other useful animals kept or raised on a farm or ranch.

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livestock British  

/ ˈlaɪvˌstɒk /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) cattle, horses, poultry, and similar animals kept for domestic use but not as pets, esp on a farm or ranch

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Etymology

Origin of livestock

First recorded in 1650–60; live ² + stock

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."

Example Sentences

By 1966, the United States had eradicated screwworms, but livestock remained vulnerable to reinfestation from screwworms migrating from Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

Canada's food inspection agency has announced a temporary ban on livestock from the US state of Texas after flesh-eating screwworms were discovered in calves this week.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

A calf in southern Texas tested positive for the New World screwworm, the first instance of the deadly fly-borne parasite detected in U.S. livestock since 1966.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

The U.S. halted all livestock imports from Mexico during an outbreak in May 2025, and the ban remains in place.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

Overnight Aureliano Segundo became the owner of land and livestock and he barely had time to enlarge his overflowing barns and pigpens.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• herd
• oxen