What does stocks mean?

Definitions for stocks
stocks

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word stocks.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. stocksnoun

    a frame that supports a boat while it is under construction

  2. stocksnoun

    a frame for constraining an animal while it is receiving veterinary attention or while being shod

  3. stocksnoun

    a former instrument of punishment consisting of a heavy timber frame with holes in which the feet (and sometimes the hands) of an offender could be locked

Wiktionary

  1. stocksnoun

    A device, similar to a pillory, formerly used for public humiliation and punishment.

  2. stocksnoun

    Plural form of stock.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Stocksnoun

    Commonly without singular. Prison for the legs.

    Fetch forth the stocks:
    As I have life and honour, there shall he sit ’till noon. William Shakespeare.

    Tom is whipt from tything to tything, stock-punish’d, and imprisoned. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

    I have sat in the stocks for the puddings he hath stol’n, otherwise he had been executed. William Shakespeare, Two Gent. of Verona.

    Matrimony is expressed by a young man standing, his legs being fast in a pair of stocks. Henry Peacham.

    The stocks hinder his legs from obeying the determination of his mind, if it would transfer his body to another place. John Locke.

Wikipedia

  1. Stocks

    Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing its use is cited by the orator Lysias: "“He shall have his foot confined in the stocks for five days, if the court shall make such addition to the sentence.” The “stocks” there mentioned, Theomnestus, are what we now call “confinement in the wood”" (Lys. 10.16)

ChatGPT

  1. stocks

    Stocks are financial instruments that represent ownership in a company. They provide a claim on part of the company's assets and earnings. Also known as shares or equities, stocks are bought and sold on various stock exchanges and are often used by businesses to raise capital. The owners of stocks, known as shareholders, can make money from stocks either through capital gains or dividends, depending on the company's financial performance.

Wikidata

  1. Stocks

    Stocks are devices used internationally, in medieval, Renaissance and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by. Since the purpose of putting offenders in the stocks was to expose them to ridicule and mockery, passers-by were encouraged to throw mud, rotten eggs, moldy fruit and vegetables, smelly fish, offal, and excrement at those being punished.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. STOCKS

    An unreliable commodity bought and sold by gamblers. If you win, it's an investment; if you lose, a speculation.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. stocks

    A frame of blocks and shores whereon to build shipping. It has a gradual declivity towards the water.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. STOCKS

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Stocks is ranked #7107 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Stocks surname appeared 4,708 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 would have the surname Stocks.

    80% or 3,769 total occurrences were White.
    14.8% or 701 total occurrences were Black.
    2.2% or 104 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    2% or 94 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    0.5% or 24 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.3% or 16 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of stocks in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of stocks in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of stocks in a Sentence

  1. Connie Gu:

    The state media commentary calling for tighter industry regulation is a cooling signal for gaming stocks that could cause short-term declines, but whether there would be revenue impact depends on what regulatory measures would follow.

  2. Peter Cardillo:

    It's a rally being based upon momentum buying now. Stocks are being marked up, and it will continue right up until year end.

  3. Brett Elliott:

    A shrinking deficit is still a deficit, and there's no denying that silver stocks are thinner than they used to be.

  4. Dawn Pfaff:

    I didn't buy stocks and I don't have a lot of retirement saved, our whole plan is to get our mortgages paid off and live off rentals as our retirement income.

  5. Takatoshi Itoshima:

    There are several reasons that overseas investors can’t decide whether to sell or buy Japanese stocks, it is not still clear the impact of the outcome of the summit talks between the U.S. and Japan. We do not know how the Tokyo Olympices will be held, and vaccine rollouts extremely slow here and the virus is spreading again.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

stocks#1#3507#10000

Translations for stocks

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"stocks." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LTD, 2026. Web. 24 Jul 2026. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/stocks>.

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