stockyard

[ stok-yahrd ]

noun

1. an enclosure with pens, sheds, etc., connected with a slaughterhouse, railroad, market, etc., for the temporary housing of cattle, sheep, swine, or horses.
2. a yard for livestock.

stockyard

/ ˈstɒkˌjɑːd /

noun

1. a large yard with pens or covered buildings where farm animals are assembled, sold, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of stockyard¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; stock + yard ²

Example Sentences

Because they often are sold online at auction houses or to stockyards, it can be almost impossible to determine where the beef eventually ends up.

From Seattle Times

Old stockyards and abandoned red-brick storehouses are gradually filling with hipster bars and coffee shops, galleries and artisanal-everything shops.

From Los Angeles Times

The stockyards are gone, but the restaurant stayed.

From Seattle Times

Farm Sanctuary began not as a home for rescued animals but with a group of young activists working to expose animal cruelty at farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses.

From New York Times

The old farming dynasties are selling up their land to multinational conglomerates, and the stockyard jobs are gone.

From New York Times

Related Words

• abattoir