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Stock vs. Flow — What's the Difference?

Stock vs. Flow — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Stock and Flow

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Stock

Stock (also capital stock) is all of the shares into which ownership of a corporation is divided. In American English, the shares are collectively known as "stock".

Flow

To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner characteristic of a fluid.

Stock

A supply accumulated for future use; a store.

Flow

To issue in a stream; pour forth
Sap flowed from the gash in the tree.

Stock

The total merchandise kept on hand by a merchant, commercial establishment, warehouse, or manufacturer.
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Flow

To circulate, as the blood in the body.

Stock

All the animals kept or raised on a farm; livestock.

Flow

To move with a continual shifting of component particles
Wheat flowing into the bin.
Traffic flowing through the tunnel.

Stock

All the aquatic animals kept or raised in an aquaculture operation.

Flow

To proceed steadily and easily
The preparations flowed smoothly.

Stock

A population of wild animals, especially of a species that is also farmed
Interactions between hatchery fish and wild stocks.

Flow

To exhibit a smooth or graceful continuity
The poem's cadence flowed gracefully.

Stock

A kind of financial security granting rights of ownership in a corporation, such as a claim to a portion of the assets and earnings of the corporation and the right to vote for the board of directors. Stock is issued and traded in units called shares.

Flow

To hang loosely and gracefully
The cape flowed from his shoulders.

Stock

The stock issued by a particular company
A mutual fund that invests in technology stocks.

Flow

To rise. Used of the tide.

Stock

Chiefly British The money invested in a corporation, including debt and equity.

Flow

To arise; derive
Many conclusions flow from this hypothesis.

Stock

Chiefly British A bond, especially a government bond.

Flow

To be abundant; teem
Coffers flowing with treasure.
Wine flowing at the celebration.

Stock

The trunk or main stem of a tree or another plant.

Flow

To move from one place to another in large numbers
Contributions flowed in from all parts of the country.

Stock

A plant or stem onto which a graft is made.

Flow

To menstruate.

Stock

A plant or tree from which cuttings and slips are taken.

Flow

To undergo plastic deformation without cracking or breaking. Used of rocks, metals, or minerals.

Stock

The original progenitor of a family line.

Flow

To release as a flow
Trees flowing thin sap.

Stock

The descendants of a common ancestor; a family line, especially of a specified character
Comes from farming stock.

Flow

To cause to flow
"One of the real keys to success is developing a system where you can flow traffic to yourselves" (Marc Klee).

Stock

Ancestry or lineage; antecedents.

Flow

The act of flowing.

Stock

The type from which a group of animals or plants has descended.

Flow

The smooth motion characteristic of fluids.

Stock

A race, family, or other related group of animals or plants.

Flow

A stream or current.

Stock

An ethnic group or other major division of the human race.

Flow

A flood or overflow.

Stock

A group of related languages.

Flow

A residual mass that has stopped flowing
A hardened lava flow.

Stock

A group of related families of languages.

Flow

A continuous output or outpouring
A flow of ideas.
Produced a steady flow of stories.

Stock

The raw material out of which something is made.

Flow

A continuous movement or circulation
The flow of traffic.
A flow of paperwork across his desk.

Stock

Paper used for printing.

Flow

The amount that flows in a given period of time.

Stock

The broth in which meat, fish, bones, or vegetables are simmered for a relatively long period, used as a base in preparing soup, gravy, or sauces.

Flow

The rising of the tide.

Stock

A main upright part, especially a supporting structure or block.

Flow

Continuity and smoothness of appearance.

Stock

Stocks(Nautical) The timber frame that supports a ship during construction.

Flow

A general movement or tendency
A dissenter who went against the flow of opinion.

Stock

Often stocks A frame in which a horse or other animal is held for shoeing or for veterinary treatment.

Flow

The sequence in which operations are performed.

Stock

Stocks A device consisting of a heavy timber frame with holes for confining the ankles and sometimes the wrists, formerly used for punishment.

Flow

An apparent ease or effortlessness of performance
"An athlete must learn to forget the details of his or her training to achieve the instinctive sense of flow that characterizes a champion" (Frederick Turner).

Stock

(Nautical) A crosspiece at the end of the shank of an anchor.

Flow

Menstrual discharge.

Stock

The wooden block from which a bell is suspended.

Flow

Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.

Stock

The rear wooden, metal, or plastic handle or support of a rifle, pistol, or automatic weapon, to which the barrel and mechanism are attached.

Flow

The movement of a real or figurative fluid.

Stock

The long supporting structure and mooring beam of field-gun carriages that trails along the ground to provide stability and support.

Flow

(math) A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set.
The notion of flow is basic to the study of ordinary differential equations.

Stock

A handle, such as that of a whip, a fishing rod, or various carpentry tools.

Flow

The rising movement of the tide.

Stock

The frame of a plow, to which the share, handles, coulter, and other parts are fastened.

Flow

Smoothness or continuity.
The room was small, but it had good symmetry and flow.

Stock

A theatrical stock company.

Flow

The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement.
Turn on the valve and make sure you have sufficient flow.
Other devices measure water flow in streams fed by melted ice.

Stock

The repertoire of such a company.

Flow

A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant).

Stock

A theater or theatrical activity, especially outside of a main theatrical center
A small role in summer stock.

Flow

(psychology) A mental state characterized by concentration, focus and enjoyment of a given task.

Stock

(Botany) Any of several Eurasian and Mediterranean plants of the genus Matthiola in the mustard family, especially M. incana, widely cultivated for its clusters of showy, fragrant, variously colored flowers.

Flow

The emission of blood during menstruation.
Tampons can be small or large, slender or thick. From “slender” to “super”, you can pick the size that matches your flow.

Stock

(Games) The portion of a pack of cards or of a group of dominoes that is not dealt out but is drawn from during a game.

Flow

The ability to skilfully rap along to a beat.
The production on his new mixtape is mediocre but his flow is on point.

Stock

(Geology) A body of intrusive igneous rock of which less than 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) is exposed.

Flow

(software) The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action.
Login flow
Search flow

Stock

(Zoology) A compound organism, such as a colony of zooids.

Flow

(Scotland) A morass or marsh.

Stock

Personal reputation or status
A teacher whose stock with the students is rising.

Flow

(intransitive) To move as a fluid from one position to another.
Rivers flow from springs and lakes.
Tears flow from the eyes.

Stock

Confidence or credence
I put no stock in that statement.

Flow

(intransitive) To proceed; to issue forth.
Wealth flows from industry and economy.

Stock

A long white neckcloth worn as part of a formal riding habit.

Flow

(intransitive) To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously.
The writing is grammatically correct, but it just doesn't flow.

Stock

A broad scarf worn around the neck, especially by certain clerics.

Flow

(intransitive) To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over.

Stock

Rolling stock.

Flow

(intransitive) To hang loosely and wave.
A flowing mantle; flowing locks

Stock

To supply (a shop) with merchandise.

Flow

(intransitive) To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb.
The tide flows twice in twenty-four hours.

Stock

To supply (a farm) with livestock.

Flow

To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow.

Stock

To fill (a stream, for example) with fish.

Flow

(transitive) To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.

Stock

To keep for future sale or use.

Flow

(transitive) To cover with varnish.

Stock

To provide (a rifle, for example) with a stock.

Flow

(intransitive) To discharge excessive blood from the uterus.

Stock

(Obsolete) To put (someone) in the stocks as a punishment.

Flow

To move with a continual change of place among the particles or parts, as a fluid; to change place or circulate, as a liquid; as, rivers flow from springs and lakes; tears flow from the eyes.

Stock

To gather and lay in a supply of something
Stock up on canned goods.

Flow

To become liquid; to melt.
The mountains flowed down at thy presence.

Stock

To put forth or sprout new shoots. Used of a plant.

Flow

To proceed; to issue forth; as, wealth flows from industry and economy.
Those thousand decencies that daily flowFrom all her words and actions.

Stock

Kept regularly in stock
A stock item.

Flow

To glide along smoothly, without harshness or asperties; as, a flowing period; flowing numbers; to sound smoothly to the ear; to be uttered easily.
Virgil is sweet and flowingin his hexameters.

Stock

Repeated regularly without any thought or originality; routine
A stock answer.

Flow

To have or be in abundance; to abound; to full, so as to run or flow over; to be copious.
In that day . . . the hills shall flow with milk.
The exhilaration of a night that needed not the influence of the flowing bowl.

Stock

Employed in dealing with or caring for stock or merchandise
A stock clerk.

Flow

To hang loose and waving; as, a flowing mantle; flowing locks.
The imperial purple flowing in his train.

Stock

Of or relating to the raising of livestock
Stock farming.

Flow

To rise, as the tide; - opposed to ebb; as, the tide flows twice in twenty-four hours.
The river hath thrice flowed, no ebb between.

Stock

Used for breeding
A stock mare.

Flow

To discharge blood in excess from the uterus.

Stock

Of or relating to a stock company or its repertoire.

Flow

To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.

Stock

Of or being a conventional character or situation that recurs in many literary or cinematic works.

Flow

To cover with varnish.

Stock

A store or supply.

Flow

A stream of water or other fluid; a current; as, a flow of water; a flow of blood.

Stock

(operations) A store of goods ready for sale; inventory.
We have a stock of televisions on hand.

Flow

A continuous movement of something abundant; as, a flow of words.

Stock

A supply of anything ready for use.
Lay in a stock of wood for the winter season.

Flow

Any gentle, gradual movement or procedure of thought, diction, music, or the like, resembling the quiet, steady movement of a river; a stream.
The feast of reason and the flow of soul.

Stock

Railroad rolling stock.

Flow

The tidal setting in of the water from the ocean to the shore. See Ebb and flow, under Ebb.

Stock

A stack of undealt cards made available to the players.

Flow

A low-lying piece of watery land; - called also flow moss and flow bog.

Stock

Farm or ranch animals; livestock.

Flow

The motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)

Stock

The population of a given type of animal (especially fish) available to be captured from the wild for economic use.

Flow

The amount of fluid that flows in a given time

Stock

(finance) The capital raised by a company through the issue of shares. The total of shares held by an individual shareholder.

Flow

The act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression

Stock

The price or value of the stock of a company on the stock market.
When the bad news came out, the company's stock dropped precipitously.

Flow

Any uninterrupted stream or discharge

Stock

A share in a company.

Flow

Something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously;
A stream of people emptied from the terminal
The museum had planned carefully for the flow of visitors

Stock

(figurative) The measure of how highly a person or institution is valued.
After that last screw-up of mine, my stock is pretty low around here.

Flow

Dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas;
Two streams of development run through American history
Stream of consciousness
The flow of thought
The current of history

Stock

Any of several types of security that are similar to a stock, or marketed like one.

Flow

The monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause;
The women were sickly and subject to excessive menstruation
A woman does not take the gout unless her menses be stopped
The semen begins to appear in males and to be emitted at the same time of life that the catamenia begin to flow in females

Stock

The raw material from which things are made; feedstock.

Flow

Move or progress freely as if in a stream;
The crowd flowed out of the stadium

Stock

Broth made from meat (originally bones) or vegetables, used as a basis for stew or soup.

Flow

Move along, of liquids;
Water flowed into the cave
The Missouri feeds into the Mississippi

Stock

The type of paper used in printing.
The books were printed on a heavier stock this year.

Flow

Cause to flow;
The artist flowed the washes on the paper

Stock

Ellipsis of film stock

Flow

Be abundantly present;
The champagne flowed at the wedding

Stock

Plain soap before it is coloured and perfumed.

Flow

Fall or flow in a certain way;
This dress hangs well
Her long black hair flowed down her back

Stock

Stock theater, summer stock theater.

Flow

Cover or swamp with water

Stock

The trunk and woody main stems of a tree. The base from which something grows or branches.

Flow

Undergo menstruation;
She started menstruating at the age of 11

Stock

(horticulture) The plant upon which the scion is grafted.

Stock

(by extension) Lineage, family, ancestry.

Stock

Any of the several species of cruciferous flowers in the genus Matthiola.

Stock

A handle or stem to which the working part of an implement or weapon is attached.

Stock

(firearm) The part of a rifle or shotgun that rests against the shooter's shoulder.

Stock

The handle of a whip, fishing rod, etc.

Stock

Part of a machine that supports items or holds them in place.

Stock

The headstock of a lathe, drill, etc.

Stock

The tailstock of a lathe.

Stock

A bar, stick or rod.

Stock

A ski pole.

Stock

(nautical) A bar going through an anchor, perpendicular to the flukes.

Stock

(nautical) The axle attached to the rudder, which transfers the movement of the helm to the rudder.

Stock

(geology) A pipe (vertical cylinder of ore)

Stock

A type of (now formal or official) neckwear.

Stock

A necktie or cravat, particularly a wide necktie popular in the eighteenth century, often seen today as a part of formal wear for horse riding competitions.

Stock

A piece of black cloth worn under a clerical collar.

Stock

A bed for infants; a crib, cot, or cradle

Stock

(folklore) A piece of wood magically made to be just like a real baby and substituted for it by magical beings.

Stock

(obsolete) A cover for the legs; a stocking.

Stock

A block of wood; something fixed and solid; a pillar; a firm support; a post.

Stock

A person who is as dull and lifeless as a stock or post; one who has little sense.

Stock

The longest part of a split tally stick formerly struck in the exchequer, which was delivered to the person who had lent the king money on account, as the evidence of indebtedness.

Stock

The frame or timbers on which a ship rests during construction.

Stock

Red and grey bricks, used for the exterior of walls and the front of buildings.

Stock

(biology) In tectology, an aggregate or colony of individuals, such as trees, chains of salpae, etc.

Stock

The beater of a fulling mill.

Stock

A thrust with a rapier; a stoccado.

Stock

To have on hand for sale.
The store stocks all kinds of dried vegetables.

Stock

To provide with material requisites; to store; to fill; to supply.
To stock a warehouse with goods
To stock a farm, i.e. to supply it with cattle and tools
To stock land, i.e. to occupy it with a permanent growth, especially of grass

Stock

To allow (cows) to retain milk for twenty-four hours or more prior to sale.

Stock

To put in the stocks as punishment.

Stock

(nautical) To fit (an anchor) with a stock, or to fasten the stock firmly in place.

Stock

To arrange cards in a certain manner for cheating purposes; to stack the deck.

Stock

Of a type normally available for purchase/in stock.
Stock items
Stock sizes

Stock

Having the same configuration as cars sold to the non-racing public, or having been modified from such a car.

Stock

Straightforward, ordinary, just another, very basic.
He gave me a stock answer.

Stock

The stem, or main body, of a tree or plant; the fixed, strong, firm part; the trunk.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

Stock

The stem or branch in which a graft is inserted.
The scion overruleth the stock quite.

Stock

A block of wood; something fixed and solid; a pillar; a firm support; a post.
All our fathers worshiped stocks and stones.
Item, for a stock of brass for the holy water, seven shillings; which, by the canon, must be of marble or metal, and in no case of brick.

Stock

Hence, a person who is as dull and lifeless as a stock or post; one who has little sense.
Let's be no stoics, nor no stocks.

Stock

The principal supporting part; the part in which others are inserted, or to which they are attached.

Stock

The wood to which the barrel, lock, etc., of a rifle or like firearm are secured; also, a long, rectangular piece of wood, which is an important part of several forms of gun carriage.

Stock

The original progenitor; also, the race or line of a family; the progenitor of a family and his direct descendants; lineage; family.
And stand betwixt them made, when, severally,All told their stock.
Thy mother was no goddess, nor thy stockFrom Dardanus.

Stock

The handle or contrivance by which bits are held in boring; a bitstock; a brace.

Stock

Money or capital which an individual or a firm employs in business; fund; in the United States, the capital of a bank or other company, in the form of transferable shares, each of a certain amount; money funded in government securities, called also the public funds; in the plural, property consisting of shares in joint-stock companies, or in the obligations of a government for its funded debt; - so in the United States, but in England the latter only are called stocks, and the former shares.

Stock

The block of wood or metal frame which constitutes the body of a plane, and in which the plane iron is fitted; a plane stock.

Stock

Same as Stock account, below.

Stock

The wooden or iron crosspiece to which the shank of an anchor is attached. See Illust. of Anchor.

Stock

Supply provided; store; accumulation; especially, a merchant's or manufacturer's store of goods; as, to lay in a stock of provisions.
Add to that stock which justly we bestow.

Stock

The support of the block in which an anvil is fixed, or of the anvil itself.

Stock

Domestic animals or beasts collectively, used or raised on a farm; as, a stock of cattle or of sheep, etc.; - called also live stock.

Stock

A handle or wrench forming a holder for the dies for cutting screws; a diestock.

Stock

That portion of a pack of cards not distributed to the players at the beginning of certain games, as gleek, etc., but which might be drawn from afterward as occasion required; a bank.
I must buy the stock; send me good cardings.

Stock

The part of a tally formerly struck in the exchequer, which was delivered to the person who had lent the king money on account, as the evidence of indebtedness. See Counterfoil.

Stock

A thrust with a rapier; a stoccado.

Stock

A covering for the leg, or leg and foot; as, upper stocks (breeches); nether stocks (stockings).
With a linen stock on one leg.

Stock

A kind of stiff, wide band or cravat for the neck; as, a silk stock.

Stock

A frame of timber, with holes in which the feet, or the feet and hands, of criminals were formerly confined by way of punishment.
He shall rest in my stocks.

Stock

The frame or timbers on which a ship rests while building.

Stock

Red and gray bricks, used for the exterior of walls and the front of buildings.

Stock

Any cruciferous plant of the genus Matthiola; as, common stock (Matthiola incana) (see Gilly-flower); ten-weeks stock (M. annua).

Stock

An irregular metalliferous mass filling a large cavity in a rock formation, as a stock of lead ore deposited in limestone.

Stock

A race or variety in a species.

Stock

In tectology, an aggregate or colony of persons (see Person), as trees, chains of salpæ, etc.

Stock

The beater of a fulling mill.

Stock

A liquid or jelly containing the juices and soluble parts of meat, and certain vegetables, etc., extracted by cooking; - used in making soup, gravy, etc.

Stock

Raw material; that out of which something is manufactured; as, paper stock.

Stock

A plain soap which is made into toilet soap by adding perfumery, coloring matter, etc.
At the outset of any inquiry it is proper to take stock of the results obtained by previous explorers of the same field.

Stock

To lay up; to put aside for future use; to store, as merchandise, and the like.

Stock

To provide with material requisites; to store; to fill; to supply; as, to stock a warehouse, that is, to fill it with goods; to stock a farm, that is, to supply it with cattle and tools; to stock land, that is, to occupy it with a permanent growth, especially of grass.

Stock

To suffer to retain milk for twenty-four hours or more previous to sale, as cows.

Stock

To put in the stocks.

Stock

Used or employed for constant service or application, as if constituting a portion of a stock or supply; standard; permanent; standing; as, a stock actor; a stock play; a stock phrase; a stock response; a stock sermon.

Stock

The capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest (equity);
He owns a controlling share of the company's stock

Stock

Liquid in which meat and vegetables are simmered; used as a basis for e.g. soups or sauces;
She made gravy with a base of beef stock

Stock

The merchandise that a shop has on hand;
They carried a vast inventory of hardware

Stock

A supply of something available for future use;
He brought back a large store of Cuban cigars

Stock

Not used technically; any animals kept for use or profit

Stock

The descendants of one individual;
His entire lineage has been warriors

Stock

The handle of a handgun or the butt end of a rifle or shotgun or part of the support of a machine gun or artillery gun;
The rifle had been fitted with a special stock

Stock

The reputation and popularity a person has;
His stock was so high he could have been elected mayor

Stock

A special variety of domesticated animals within a species;
He experimented on a particular breed of white rats
He created a new strain of sheep

Stock

Lumber used in the construction of something;
They will cut round stock to 1-inch diameter

Stock

A certificate documenting the shareholder's ownership in the corporation;
The value of his stocks doubled during the past year

Stock

Any of various ornamental flowering plants of the genus Malcolmia

Stock

A plant or stem onto which a graft is made; especially a plant grown specifically to provide the root part of grafted plants

Stock

Any of several Old World plants cultivated for their brightly colored flowers

Stock

The handle end of some implements or tools;
He grabbed the cue by the stock

Stock

Persistent thickened stem of a herbaceous perennial plant

Stock

An ornamental white cravat

Stock

Have on hand;
Do you carry kerosene heaters?

Stock

Equip with a stock;
Stock a rifle

Stock

Supply with fish;
Stock a lake

Stock

Supply with livestock;
Stock a farm

Stock

Stock up on to keep for future use or sale;
Let's stock coffee as long as prices are low

Stock

Provide or furnish with a stock of something;
Stock the larder with meat

Stock

Put forth and grow sprouts or shoots;
The plant sprouted early this year

Stock

Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse;
Bromidic sermons
His remarks were trite and commonplace
Hackneyed phrases
A stock answer
Repeating threadbare jokes
Parroting some timeworn axiom
The trite metaphor `hard as nails'

Stock

Routine;
A stock answer

Stock

Regularly and widely used or sold;
A standard size
A stock item

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