stock in trade: Meaning and Definition of

stock' in trade'

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. the requisites for carrying on a business, esp. goods kept on hand for sale in a store.
  2. resources or abilities peculiar to an individual or group or employed for a specific purpose: A feeling for language should be part of the stock in trade of any writer.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.