inventory

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈɪnvəntəri/ 🇺🇸 /ˌɪnvəˈntɔriː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or the contents of a building, typically made for accounting or record-keeping purposes.; The total quantity of goods or materials on hand in a warehouse, store, or factory at a given time.; The process of counting and recording all items in stock; the act of taking stock.; A detailed catalog or register of items, often used in legal, scientific, or administrative contexts.; In psychology, a standardized questionnaire or checklist used to assess personality traits, attitudes, or behaviors.; In computing, a list of hardware and software components available on a system or network.
  2. verb
    To make a complete list of items; to catalog or record all items in a collection or stock.; To count and check the quantity of goods in stock.; To include or list something as part of a record or collection.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: inventories 3rd sing.: inventories Past: inventoried Past part.: inventoried Pres part.: inventorying

Collocations

take inventoryinventory managementinventory controlinventory turnoverinventory listin inventory

Derivatives

inventorial

Synonyms

stockcatalogregisterliststockpile

Commonly confused

stock
EN: 'Stock' refers to the goods themselves held for sale, while 'inventory' is the detailed record or count of those goods.
catalog
EN: 'Catalog' is a list presented to customers for browsing or purchasing; 'inventory' is an internal accounting record of items on hand.

Spelling tips

EN: The plural is 'inventories' (change 'y' to 'ies'), not 'inventorys.' Similarly, the past tense is 'inventoried,' not 'inventoryed.'

💬 Examples

  1. The store conducted an inventory of all its merchandise at the end of the year.

  2. The company reduced its inventory to cut storage costs.

  3. We closed the shop early to do the annual inventory.

  4. The museum maintains an inventory of all its artifacts.

  5. The therapist administered a depression inventory to evaluate the patient's mood.

  6. The IT department maintains an inventory of all company computers and licenses.

  7. The librarian spent weeks inventorying the rare book collection.

  8. The warehouse staff inventoried the shelves every quarter.

  9. The report inventoried all the damages caused by the storm.