stocking

American  

[stok-ing] / ˈstɒk ɪŋ /

noun

1. a close-fitting covering for the foot and part of the leg, usually knitted, of wool, cotton, nylon, silk, or similar material.

2. something resembling such a covering.

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idioms

1. in one's stocking feet, wearing stockings, but without shoes.

   Be careful of glass splinters if you walk through here in your stocking feet.

stocking British  

/ ˈstɒkɪŋ /

noun

1. one of a pair of close-fitting garments made of knitted yarn to cover the foot and part or all of the leg

2. something resembling this in position, function, appearance, etc

3. wearing stockings or socks but no shoes

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Other Word Forms

• half-stocking
  noun
• overstocking
  noun
• stockinged
  adjective
• stockingless
  adjective
• unstockinged
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of stocking

First recorded in 1575–85; stock + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Vicky Fraser is a bibliographic services manager with LibrariesWest, an organisation in charge of stocking and running public libraries in Bristol, Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

From BBC • May 24, 2026

Is there anything shelf-stable worth stocking up on while it’s cheap?

From Salon • May 22, 2026

That included designing and stocking the nursery at the training facility Angel City inherited from the NFL’s Rams in the fall of 2024.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026

Bravo, too, to the AS Boutique hotel in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the best complimentary hotel breakfast I’ve had and for stocking the minifridges in its rooms with complimentary water, beer, juice and soda.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The pom-pom on his stocking cap hung far down his humped shoulder.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• hose
• hosiery
• sock