stock in trade
Americannoun
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the requisites for carrying on a business, especially goods kept on hand for sale in a store.
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resources or abilities peculiar to an individual or group or employed for a specific purpose.
A feeling for language should be part of the stock in trade of any writer.
noun
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goods in stock necessary for carrying on a business
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anything constantly used by someone as a part of his profession, occupation, or trade
friendliness is the salesman's stock in trade
Etymology
Origin of stock in trade
First recorded in 1660–70
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.
But the company has also been accused of overhyping the powers of a technology which is its stock in trade, and the subject of fierce competition with rival OpenAI.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
As a fighter whose stock in trade is the knockout, British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley feels he can't criticise people for craving a spectacle he very much wants to supply.
From BBC ● May 8, 2024
Desperation, illness and frailty happen to be Ermonela Jaho’s stock in trade.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2023
Colin Farrell: Brendan was reticent about doing it, as I was and many people are — it’s not our stock in trade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2022
Deuterons being the Rad Lab’s stock in trade, Lawrence commanded, “Let’s try it out.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
