common stock

American  

noun

1. stock that ordinarily has no preference in the matter of dividends or assets and represents the residual ownership of a corporate business.

2. Animal Husbandry. stock that is not purebred.

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common stock British  

noun

1. the US name for ordinary shares

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Etymology

Origin of common stock

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Instead of retiring the senior preferred shares, Trump could decide to convert them to common shares, severely diluting the value of the existing common stock.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Instead of retiring the senior preferred shares, Trump could decide to convert them to common shares, severely diluting the value of the existing common stock.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Last month, Victory Capital offered a consideration of $57.04 a share, including $30 in cash and a fixed exchange ratio of 0.350 shares of Victory Capital common stock.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

During the week to March 15, the company raised about $1.6 billion through the sale of $1.2 billion in preferred stock and the sale of $400 million in common stock.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

To secure his natural rights the individual deposits some of them—e.g. the right to judge in his own cause—in the common stock of society.

From The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. I. (of II) With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England; to which is added a Sketch of Paine by William Cobbett by Conway, Moncure Daniel

Related Words

• common shares
• ordinary shares