Definition of STOCKPILE

Examples of stockpile in a Sentence

Noun

a stockpile of medical supplies an emergency stockpile of potable water and canned goods in the cellar

Verb

The government stockpiled vaccines to prepare for a flu epidemic. we should be able to stockpile enough vaccine for the upcoming flu season

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

But draining its own stockpiles may leave the market more nervous about future supply outages, and they are already said to be at a low level. — David Sheppard, Los Angeles Times, "Attack on Saudi facility exposes world economy’s ‘Achilles heel’," 16 Sep. 2019 Amid fears that Ohio might use expired lethal-injection drugs in upcoming executions, government lawyers on Friday asked a federal court’s permission to destroy its remaining stockpile of expired drugs. — cleveland.com, "Trump campaign launching nationwide student grassroots program in Ohio: Capitol Letter," 16 Sep. 2019 If the New Start deal is scrapped, experts fear a return to a world without limits on nuclear stockpiles. — Eliza Mackintosh, CNN, "Clock's ticking on one of world's most important nuclear treaties. A dangerous arms race may be next," 20 July 2019 Should a truly novel pathogen appear—due to bioterror, bio error, or a natural run of bad luck in a world that can produce things like Ebola by chance—a defense centered on stockpiles could be swiftly outmaneuvered. — Andrew Hessel, Ars Technica, "Printing vaccines at the pharmacy or at home will be the way of the future," 20 June 2019 Its founder, the late Diana Epstein, acquired a stockpile of buttons on a whim and, in collaboration with her partner and heir, Millicent Safro, nurtured her collection into an institution. — Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, "Tender Buttons, a One-of-a-Kind New York Institution, Closes Shop," 10 Sep. 2019 To be clear, Apple is still one of the most valuable tech companies in the world, with a stockpile of over $200 billion in cash. — Wired, "What to Expect From Apple’s Fall Hardware Extravaganza," 6 Sep. 2019 Further investigation of the home revealed a massive stockpile of firearms, an inactive pipe bomb and other grenades, including at least one active military-grade smoke grenade. — Doha Madani, NBC News, "Philadelphia police seize massive arsenal of weapons from suicidal man's home," 30 Aug. 2019 The employee’s decision to speak out led to the arrest of Rodolfo Montoya, 37, who police say had a stockpile of weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his home. — Josiah Bates, Time, "Have Police Really Thwarted More Mass Shootings Since El Paso and Dayton, or Are We Just Paying Closer Attention?," 23 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Unlike nuclear weapons, which are expensive and stockpiled by a small number of states, cyber weapons are cheap and widely available, not just to nation-states but to criminals and malign actors. — Sue Halpern, The New Yorker, "How Cyber Weapons Are Changing the Landscape of Modern Warfare," 18 July 2019 Due to the risks tied to running out of snow, hosts stockpile natural snow or divert and use a lot of water to make mountains of artificial snow that’s expensive and harder on the environment. — Eva Kassens-noor, The Conversation, "Italy’s minimal competition to host the 2026 Winter Olympics," 25 June 2019 Miami has been stockpiling draft picks during an ongoing roster purge that brought 14 new players to the team just since the end of the exhibition season. — SFChronicle.com, "Player unrest among Dolphins after loss to Ravens," 8 Sep. 2019 Last week, Iranian officials broke through similar limits on how much nuclear fuel the country could stockpile. — David E. Sanger, BostonGlobe.com, "Iran announces new breach of nuclear deal," 7 July 2019 Last week, Iranian officials broke through similar limits on how much nuclear fuel the country could stockpile. — David E. Sanger, New York Times, "Iran Announces New Breach of Nuclear Deal Limits and Threatens Further Violations," 7 July 2019 But, yes, the Bulls are trying to stockpile young assets and build their foundation that way. — K.c. Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Bulls Q&A: Is Wendell Carter Jr. the right pick? Will Zach LaVine be re-signed?," 27 June 2018 Correction: The original article incorrectly said that 3.6 tons was the amount of rhino horn stockpiled by South Africa. — Rachel Nuwer, Newsweek, "Legal Trade in Rhinoceros Horns Could Save the Species From Extinction—Or Hasten Their Demise.," 21 Nov. 2016 Cyberspace has been compared to the Cold War for well over a decade, especially comparisons between weapon stockpiling and information conflict. — Wired, "Cold War Analogies are Warping Tech Policy," 5 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stockpile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.