stock exchange
Americannoun
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a building or place where stocks and other securities are bought and sold.
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an association of brokers and dealers in stocks and bonds who meet together and transact business according to fixed rules.
noun
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Also called: stock market.
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a highly organized market facilitating the purchase and sale of securities and operated by professional stockbrokers and market makers according to fixed rules
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a place where securities are regularly traded
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( as modifier )
a stock-exchange operator
stock-exchange prices
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the prices or trading activity of a stock exchange
the stock exchange fell heavily today
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In the United States, the two largest stock exchanges are the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Activity on these two exchanges is usually considered an indication of the state of the economy as a whole.
Etymology
Origin of stock exchange
First recorded in 1765–75
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.
According to the city’s stock exchange, 40 companies raised more than US$14 billion via IPOs in the first three months of this year, marking the strongest first-quarter performance since 2021.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
Shares of Ferrari were down 6.3 percent at midday on the Milan stock exchange to 290.45 euros.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
It is a period of time, mandated by the SEC, during which leaders of a business actively preparing to list on a public stock exchange are not supposed to make certain statements.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
It plans to go public as soon as June 12 and is expected to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange, according to The Wall Street Journal.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
If it were not, one could make a killing on the stock exchange by having a computer that would remember tomorrow’s prices!
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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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.