inventory

[ in-vuhn-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

noun

, plural in·ven·to·ries.

1. a complete listing of merchandise or stock on hand, work in progress, raw materials, finished goods on hand, etc., made each year by a business concern.
2. the objects or items represented on such a list, as a merchant's stock of goods.
3. the aggregate value of a stock of goods.
4. raw material from the time of its receipt at an industrial plant for manufacturing purposes to the time it is sold.
5. a detailed, often descriptive, list of articles, giving the code number, quantity, and value of each; catalog.

   Synonyms: account, register, record, roster

6. a formal list of movables, as of a merchant's stock of goods.
7. a formal list of the property of a person or estate.
8. a tally of one's personality traits, aptitudes, skills, etc., for use in counseling and guidance.
9. a catalog of natural resources, especially a count or estimate of wildlife and game in a particular area.
10. the act of making a catalog or detailed listing.

verb (used with object)

, in·ven·to·ried, in·ven·to·ry·ing.

1. to make an inventory of; enter in an inventory; catalog.
2. to take stock of; evaluate:

   to inventory one's life and accomplishments.

3. to summarize:

   to inventory the progress in chemistry.

4. to keep an available supply of (merchandise); stock.

verb (used without object)

, in·ven·to·ried, in·ven·to·ry·ing.

1. to have value as shown by an inventory:

   stock that inventories at two million dollars.

inventory

/ -trɪ; ˈɪnvəntərɪ /

noun

1. a detailed list of articles, goods, property, etc
2. often plural accounting
   1. the amount or value of a firm's current assets that consist of raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods; stock
   2. such assets individually

verb

1. tr to enter (items) in an inventory; make a list of

inventory

1. An itemized list of a firm's goods that have not yet been sold.

Derived Forms

• ˈinventoriable, adjective
• ˌinvenˈtorial, adjective
• ˌinvenˈtorially, adverb

Other Words From

• inven·tori·a·ble adjective
• inven·tori·al adjective
• inven·tori·al·ly adverb
• over·inven·toried adjective
• pre·inven·tory noun plural preinventories

Word History and Origins

Origin of inventory¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English inventorie, from Medieval Latin inventōrium; invent, -tory ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of inventory¹

C16: from Medieval Latin inventōrium; see invent

Synonym Study

See list ¹.

Example Sentences

Netflix said it had sold out of the in-game inventory for its live NFL Christmas Day games this year, with sponsors that include sports betting company FanDuel and Verizon.

From Los Angeles Times

"If we can take inventory of our skills, knowledge and desire, and align it with what's doing well, what's stable, and what we think is going to be doing well, then we can take advantage of the skills, knowledge and desire that we have and make it applicable to business," said David Meltzer, founder of David Meltzer Enterprises and former CEO of Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency.

From Salon

“What you’re seeing,” one political media buyer told me, “is the result of there just being more money than there is ad inventory to spend it on.”

From Slate

In the immediate aftermath of Lennon’s death, Ono tasks Mintz with taking an inventory of the fallen artist’s possessions.

From Salon

Business owners across Tampa Bay, meanwhile, are plagued with a separate layer of problems, involving lost inventory, lost revenue, and the delicate question of how to encourage a storm-weary population to come out and buy stuff at a point in time when people are keenly feeling personal and financial losses.

From Slate

Related Words

• backlog
• fund
• index
• reserve
• stockpile
• supply