plural IPOs
: an initial public offering of a company's stock

Examples of IPO in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Elon Musk is reportedly forcing banks, auditors, and law firms working on the upcoming SpaceX IPO to subscribe to X’s controversial in-house chatbot Grok. Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 5 Apr. 2026 Banks and other firms that want to work on SpaceX’s initial public offering (IPO) are being required to buy subscriptions to the Grok AI service, The New York Times reported today. ArsTechnica, 3 Apr. 2026 Anticipation around OpenAI’s potential IPO continues to build at the same time. Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 3 Apr. 2026 This refers to stock options granted to executives before an IPO at a share price far below the eventual IPO price. Brad Badertscher, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for IPO

Word History

Etymology

initial public offering

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of IPO was in 1976

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Cite this Entry

“IPO.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/IPO. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Legal Definition

: an initial public offering of a company's stock
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