Word Confusion: Stock vs Stoke vs Stroke

Plural for the noun: stocks
Gerund: stocking

Third person present verb: stocks
Past tense or past participle: stocked
Present participle: stocking

Plural for the noun: stokes
Gerund: stoking

Third person present verb: stokes
Past tense or past participle: stoked
Present participle: stoking

Plural for the noun: strokes
Gerund: stroking

Third person present verb: strokes
Past tense or past participle: stroked
Present participle: stroking

• Having as one’s job the care of a concern’s goods

[Of a phrase or expression] So regularly used as to be automatic or hackneyed

• [A.k.a. character archetype] Denoting a conventional character type or situation that recurs in a particular genre of literature, theater, or film
• [A.k.a. archive footage, library pictures, file footage] Denoting or relating to cinematic footage that can be regularly used in different productions, typically that of outdoor scenes used to add realism to a production shot in an indoor set

[Theater] Pertaining to a stock company

• Appearing together in a repertoire, as a company
• Forming part of a repertoire, as a play

Of the common or ordinary type

• In common use
• Banal
• Commonplace

Pertaining to or designating the breeding and raising of livestock

[Southern US; chiefly Southern Appalachian and South Atlantic states; of farm animals] Being a fully grown male

Of or relating to the stock of a company or corporation

[Informal] Of, relating to, or characteristic of a stock car

Noun:
The goods or merchandise kept on the premises of a business or warehouse and available for sale or distribution ¹

• A supply or quantity of something accumulated or available for future use
• Farm animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep, bred and kept for their meat or milk
• Livestock
• Short for rolling stock
• [Also film stock] Photographic film that has not been exposed or processed
• [In some card games] The cards that have not yet been dealt, left on the table to be drawn

The capital raised by a business or corporation through the issue and subscription of shares

• [Also stocks] Shares of stock of a particular company as held by an individual or group as an investment
• Securities issued by the government in fixed units with a fixed rate of interest
• A person’s reputation or popularity

Liquid made by cooking bones, meat, fish, or vegetables slowly in water, used as a basis for the preparation of soup, gravy, or sauces

• [With modifier] The raw material from which a specified commodity can be manufactured

[Usually with adjective or noun modifier] A person’s ancestry or line of descent

• A breed, variety, or population of an animal or plant

The trunk or woody stem of a living tree or shrub, especially one into which a graft (scion) is inserted

The perennial part of a herbaceous plant, especially a rhizome

[Historical; the stocks; treated as singular or plural] An instrument of punishment consisting of an adjustable wooden structure with holes for securing a person’s feet and hands, in which criminals were locked and exposed to public ridicule or assault

[Also gunstock, shoulder stock, buttstock, or butt] The part of a rifle or other firearm to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, held against one’s shoulder when firing the gun

• The crosspiece of an anchor
• The handle of something such as a whip or fishing rod
• Short for headstock
• Short for tailstock

A band of white material tied like a cravat and worn as a part of formal horse-riding dress

• A piece of white material worn under a clerical collar

[Maritime; stocks] A frame used to support a ship or boat out of water, especially when under construction

[British English; a.k.a. preferred stock, preference share] A share which entitles the holder to a fixed dividend, whose payment takes priority over that of common-stock dividends

A herbaceous European plant that is widely cultivated for its fragrant flowers, which are typically lilac, pink, or white ²

[A.k.a. card stock, cardstock, cover stock, pasteboard] Paper that is thicker and more durable than normal writing and printing paper, but thinner and more flexible than other forms of paperboard ³

Verb, intransitive:
[stock up] Amass supplies of something, typically for a particular occasion or purpose: ¹

Verb, transitive:
Have or keep a supply of (a particular product or type or product) available for sale ¹

• Provide, fill, or lay in with goods, items, or a supply of something (sometimes followed by up)

Fit a rifle or other firearm with a back portion that provides structural support

Verb, intransitive:
[Informal] To consume a large quantity of food or drink to give one energy ²

• [Informal] To eat steadily and in large quantities

To feed or tend a furnace or fire

Verb, transitive:
To stir up and feed coal or other solid fuel to a fire, furnace, boiler, etc. ²

• Act as a stoker for

Encourage or incite a strong emotion or tendency

• A blow or impact
• [Sports] A method of striking the ball in sports or games
• [Golf] An act of hitting the ball with a club, as a unit of scoring
• The sound made by a striking clock
• The striking of a bell or gong
• The sound so produced

A mark made by drawing a pen, pencil, or paintbrush in one direction across paper or canvas

• A line forming part of a written or printed character
• A short printed or written diagonal line typically separating characters or figures
• The act of making such a mark
• A movement, especially one of a series, in which something moves out of its position and back into it

An act of moving one’s hand across a surface with gentle pressure

• A beat
• The whole motion of a piston in either direction
• The rhythm to which a series of repeated movements is performed
• A movement of the arms and legs forming one of a series in swimming
• [Nautical; in rowing] The mode or action of moving the oar
• [Nautical; also stroke oar] The oar or oarsman nearest the stern of a boat, setting the timing for the other rowers

[Medical] A sudden disabling attack or loss of consciousness caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain, especially through thrombosis

• A sudden severe attack, as of paralysis or sunstroke
• [A.k.a. cerebral accident, cerebrovascular accident] A sudden loss of brain function caused by a blockage or rupture of a blood vessel to the brain, characterized by loss of muscular control, diminution or loss of sensation or consciousness, dizziness, slurred speech, or other symptoms that vary with the extent and severity of the damage to the brain

The time so indicated

A sudden action or process having a strong impact or effect

A sudden occurrence or result

An inspired or effective idea or act

• A single uninterrupted movement, especially when repeated or in a back-and-forth motion
• A keystroke
• Any of a series of movements of a piston from one end of the limit of its motion to another

A distinctive effect or deft touch, as in literary composition

Verb, transitive:
To move one’s hand with gentle pressure over a surface (especially hair, fur, or skin), typically repeatedly

• To caress
• To apply (something) to a surface using a gentle movement
• [North American English; informal] To reassure or flatter (someone), especially in order to gain their cooperation

To act as the stroke of (a boat or crew)

To hit or kick (a ball) smoothly and deliberately

• To score (a run or point) by hitting or kicking a ball smoothly

He was a stock clerk at the local grocery store.

“It’s in the mail” was their stock reply.

The stock characters in a paranormal fantasy are usually witches, vampires, and shapeshifters.

TV series for children frequently re-use stock footage to increases viewers’ familiarity between shows.

It was his stock argument.

Political campaigns are full of stock remarks.

“Large stock farming is about raising big animals like cattle, which provide meat and milk[, while] small-stock farming focuses on animals like sheep and goats which provide meat and milk” (Stock).

You can purchase fractional shares or full shares of common stock.

Summer stock is ideal in an outdoor amphitheater.

Stock theatre comprises a resident company that presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.

The singer has thousands of songs in her repertoire.

Stock cars were originally production-model cars, but now use cars specifically built for racing.

Noun:
The store has a very low turnover of stock.

Buy now, while stocks last!

The store is experiencing stock shortages.

I need to replenish my stock of wine.

Fish stocks are being dangerously depleted.

All the stock were housed and fed in sheds.

The sale of dairy stock is up next.

Of the rolling stock, we’re down two locomotives and six carriages.

How much film stock is left?

“A player who draws a red three from the stock also lays it on the table face up and draws a replacement” (Canasta).

Between 1982 and 1986, the value of the company’s stock rose by 86%.

She owned $3,000 worth of stock.

Apple is a blue-chip stock.

Government gilt-edged stock is a low-risk corporate bond.

I felt I was right, but my stock was low with this establishment.

The recipe calls for a pint of chicken stock.

The fat can be used as soap stock.

Her mother was of French stock.

Both of them came from peasant stock.

The vineyards were plowed up and replanted using different vine stock.

Preferred stock “gives their owners a priority claim whenever a company pays dividends or distributes assets to shareholders” (What).

Geographically separate stocks of some species are recognized.

“The stock may be (for a bench graft) a stem and root system of a young plant or a piece of root” (Rothenberger).

“Stored rhizomes are subject to bacterial and fungal infections, making them unsuitable for replanting and greatly diminishing stocks” (Rhizome).

Ol’ Jeb is in the stocks and the children are pelting him with old tomatoes.

Back in the day, “if an individual wanted a firearm, they went to a watch maker to buy the action, a blacksmith to buy the barrel, and then take them to a cabinet maker for the stock” (Rao).

“The stock ensures that the arms rest vertically on the seabed, and thus one fluke will dig itself in, providing maximum holding power” (Editors).

“Some varieties, such as a hunting whip or lunge whip, have an extended stock section in addition to the line” (Whip).

“The main function of a headstock is to house the tuning pegs or other mechanism that holds the strings at the ‘head’ of the instrument” (Headstock).

“A tailstock, also known as a foot stock, is a device often used as part of an engineering lathe, wood-turning lathe, or used in conjunction with a rotary table on a milling machine” (Tailstock).

“The most frustrating part of formal [riding] attire is the dreaded stock tie” (Lengling).

“Vest and bib stocks are ideal for giving you a smart and formal look with a level of simplicity” (Shirts).

They’ve got the Sea Sprite laid up in the stocks.

I always plant stock in the garden, for its fragrance and beauty.

It’s best to use card stock for business cards, playing cards, and catalogue covers.

Verb, intransitive:
I’m stocking up for Christmas.

You’d better stock up with fuel.

We need to stock up on beer.

Verb, transitive:
Most supermarkets now stock a range of organic produce.

I must stock up the fridge.

It was a fine gun which he forged, stocked, and completed himself.

“Kinematic viscosity is often measured in the CGS unit centistokes (cSt), which is equivalent to 0.01 stokes (St)” (What Units).

“Poise is a unit of measurement used particularly for dynamic viscosity, while stokes is for kinematic viscosity” (Alambra).

Verb, intransitive:
Carol was at the coffee machine, stoking up for the day.

“That dovetails with other signs of excessive market risk-taking, stoked in part by the Federal Reserve’s easy monetary policy” (Wolverson).

“So much of the fear the media tries to stoke in me is fear of the oppressed underdog lashing out” (Chu).

She was stoked to be back in the city where it all started.

“The Wisconsin girlies in her comment section were stoked” (Kirby).

Verb, transitive:
He stoked up the barbecue.

His composure had the effect of stoking her anger.

She was stoking the fire with sticks of maple.

The men stoked the furnaces.

Politicians stoke fear to drive people to vote.

“Today, tourism stokes their economies, and each is well connected by hourly trains” (Steves).

A stroke of the ball with the upper inside of your boot, supported by the large foot bone in your shoe, will make a solid contact.

“A stroke (your point) is because you were stopped from hitting the ball and a let (play the point again) is because you were hindered getting to the ball” (What’s).

He won by two strokes.

Warm up a tamtam before giving it the main stroke.

There are many gong sounds ranging from train signals coming up to a crossing, an ambulance siren, that of the boxing ring, a tram signal that it’s okay to proceed, etc.

The first stroke would belt out from the clock.

The paint had been applied in careful, regular strokes.

“The two strokes in an X aren’t the same thickness” (Typeface).

“The inferior diagonal stroke in K is a leg” (Typeface).

Massage the cream into your skin using light upward strokes.

The ray swam with effortless strokes of its huge wings.

My favorite stroke is butterfly.

“There are 4 strokes in an engine’s cycle: intake, compression, power, and exhaust” (What are).

The rowers sing to keep their stroke.

I slipped into the water and swam a few strokes.

The front crawl is a popular stroke.

Feathering a stroke allows for a more precise action.

“In the United Kingdom, the “stroke side” is the port side of the boat, because sweep rowing boats are usually rigged such that the stroke is on the port side of the boat” (Stroke).

The person closest to the stern is commonly referred to as the stroke.

He was left disabled by a stroke.

Smoking increases the risk of stroke.

Heatstroke, also called sunstroke, is the most severe form of hyperthermia, or heat-related illness.

There are three types of stroke: ischemic, which blocks blood flow to an artery in or on the brain; the less common hemorrhagic when a blood vessel breaks open and leaks blood into the brain; and, transient ischemic, which is similar to ischemic but the blood clot breaks up, usually before there is long-term damage.

I was supposed to meet him at the stroke of midnight.

It hit me like a stroke of lightning.

One lousy stroke of misfortune and it was history.

His brush strokes were broad and transparent.

“Consider how the stroke is going to look before you lay it down” (Gurney).

It was a stroke of genius.

With one stroke of a key, Armageddon was unleashed.

A few deft strokes and he brought the painting to life.

Verb, transitive:
He put his hand on her hair and stroked it.

She stroked blue eyeshadow on her eyelids.

Production executives were expert at stroking stars and brokering talent.

He stroked Penn’s rowing eight to victory.

Miller calmly stroked three-pointers throughout the tournament.

The senior stroked a two-run single.

1. First recorded before 900 as a noun; Old English stoc(c) meaning stump, stake, post, log. Cognate with the German Stock, the Old Norse stokkr meaning tree trunk.

   The verb is a derivative of the noun.

2. Mid-17th century from stock-gillyflower. There are several species, for which the Latin is Genus Matthiola, family Brassicaceae.
3. Origin unknown.

1. After Sir G. Stokes (13 August 1819 – 1 February 1903) was an Irish mathematician and physicist.
2. Mid-17th century as a back-formation from stoker.

The earliest noun sense, blow, is first recorded in Middle English.