IPO

noun

ˌī-(ˌ)pē-ˈō 

plural IPOs

: an initial public offering of a company's stock

Examples of IPO in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The litigation could become a growing financial risk as the company plans for a potential blockbuster IPO. — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 7 Nov. 2026

Voters overwhelmingly elected candidates who are critical of data-center development — one of many potential pitfalls Anthropic warned about in its IPO prospectus last month. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2026

Those close to the deal also pushed back against suggestions that the IPO had been priced too aggressively. — Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Before the turmoil in financial markets, the IPO had been expected to take place this month and to raise as much as $100 billion. — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

initial public offering

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

IPO

noun

ˌī-ˌpē-ˈō 

: an initial public offering of a company's stock