Definition

1. Noun:

   • A detailed, itemized list of goods, materials, or other assets: An "inventory" is a complete record of items currently held in stock, such as merchandise in a store or supplies in a warehouse.
   • The stock of goods or materials themselves: "Inventory" can also refer to the physical collection of items available for sale or use.
   • (Accounting) The total value of a company's current assets: This includes raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods ready for sale.
   • A catalog or collection of resources, skills, or information: Used metaphorically to describe a non-physical collection.

2. Verb:

   • To make an itemized list of; to catalog: The act of counting, listing, and recording all items in a collection or stock.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The manager conducted a monthly inventory of the warehouse.
  • The store's inventory includes a wide variety of electronic goods.
  • According to the balance sheet, the company's inventory has increased in value.

• Verb:

  • We need to inventory all the equipment in the lab before the audit.
  • The librarian spent the summer inventorying the rare book collection.

Advanced Usage

• "To take inventory": To perform the process of counting and listing items in stock.

  • The shop is closed today as they are taking inventory.

• "Inventory management": The systematic process of overseeing the constant flow of goods into and out of an existing inventory.

  • Efficient inventory management is crucial for reducing costs.

Variants and Related Words

• Inventory (as a countable noun): Often used with articles like "an inventory" or "the inventory."
• Inventoried (verb, past tense): The state of having been cataloged.
  • All items have been inventoried and tagged.
• Inventorying (verb, present participle/gerund): The ongoing process of creating an inventory.

Synonyms

• Noun: Stock, catalog, roster, listing, supply, portfolio.
• Verb: Catalog, list, record, register, tally.

Related Phrases

• Inventory control: The process of ensuring the correct amount of stock is maintained.
• Inventory shrinkage: The loss of products between the point of manufacture or purchase from a supplier and the point of sale.
• Physical inventory: The actual counting of items in stock, as opposed to a computer record.

Idioms

• "Take stock": This idiom is related in meaning to "take inventory." It means to carefully think about a situation in order to make a decision.
  • After the project failed, the team took stock of what went wrong.

Noun

1. making an itemized list of merchandise or supplies on hand
   • an inventory may be necessary to see if anything is missing
   • they held an inventory every month
2. a collection of resources
   • he dipped into his intellectual armory to find an answer
3. (accounting) the value of a firm's current assets including raw materials and work in progress and finished goods
4. the merchandise that a shop has on hand
   • they carried a vast inventory of hardware
   • they stopped selling in exact sizes in order to reduce inventory
5. a detailed list of all the items in stock

Verb

1. make or include in an itemized record or report
   • Inventory all books before the end of the year