stock-in-trade
noun
ˌstäk-ən-ˈtrād 
ˈstäk-ən-ˌtrād
1
: the equipment, merchandise, or materials necessary to or used in a trade or business
2
: something that resembles the standard equipment of a tradesman or business
humor was her stock-in-trade as a writer
Examples of stock-in-trade in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His stock-in-trade is building café racers based on BMW R- and K-series engines that distill each unique design into the most elemental of motorcycles.
—
Robert Ross, Robb Report, 11 June 2025
And after all, contradiction was his stock-in-trade.
—Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 30 May 2025
But, then, folly seems, more than anything, to be Trump’s stock-in-trade.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 27 May 2025
The post was a joke, and perhaps an effective one, maximizing the distance between Studio Ghibli’s tender, bittersweet, profoundly human ethos and the gleeful, dehumanizing viciousness that is Trump’s stock-in-trade.
—Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
The Beyoncé who once delivered some of the big ballads that are more the stock-in-trade of her closest diva equivalents is still in hibernation, surely to return someday, but not just yet.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
Fascism fascination for gamers Juvenile nihilism is Bong Joon-ho’s stock-in-trade.
—Armond White, National Review, 12 Mar. 2025
Cue a number of the boozy mealtime scenes that are Hong’s stock-in-trade, as Jeong invites Sieon for lunch at her favorite eel restaurant, followed by further, fluttery-eyed lunch and dinner dates, with Jeonim as an increasingly passive-aggressive third wheel.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024
Commentators from around the world, not to mention the French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, were quick to dismiss this last appointment, quoting some of Johnson’s gaffes, which are the stock-in-trade of this former London mayor and newspaper columnist.
—Tim Cullen, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2016
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Robert Ross, Robb Report, 11 June 2025
And after all, contradiction was his stock-in-trade.
—Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 30 May 2025
But, then, folly seems, more than anything, to be Trump’s stock-in-trade.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 27 May 2025
The post was a joke, and perhaps an effective one, maximizing the distance between Studio Ghibli’s tender, bittersweet, profoundly human ethos and the gleeful, dehumanizing viciousness that is Trump’s stock-in-trade.
—Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
The Beyoncé who once delivered some of the big ballads that are more the stock-in-trade of her closest diva equivalents is still in hibernation, surely to return someday, but not just yet.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
Fascism fascination for gamers Juvenile nihilism is Bong Joon-ho’s stock-in-trade.
—Armond White, National Review, 12 Mar. 2025
Cue a number of the boozy mealtime scenes that are Hong’s stock-in-trade, as Jeong invites Sieon for lunch at her favorite eel restaurant, followed by further, fluttery-eyed lunch and dinner dates, with Jeonim as an increasingly passive-aggressive third wheel.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024
Commentators from around the world, not to mention the French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, were quick to dismiss this last appointment, quoting some of Johnson’s gaffes, which are the stock-in-trade of this former London mayor and newspaper columnist.
—Tim Cullen, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Stock-in-trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stock-in-trade. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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