inventory: Meaning and Definition of

in•ven•to•ry

Pronunciation: (in'vun-tôr"ē, -tōr"ē), [key]
— n., pl. v., -to•ries, -to•ried, -to•ry•ing.
—n.
  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.
  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, esp. a count or estimate of wildlife and game in a particular area.
  10. the act of making a catalog or detailed listing.
—v.t.
  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.
—v.i.
  1. to have value as shown by an inventory: stock that inventories at two million dollars.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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