Meaning & use
deadstock
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablebusiness
Goods that a business has not sold and may never sell, often kept in storage and counted as a loss.
Grammar: Uncountable: the shop wrote off its deadstock.
Patterns
- clear deadstock
- write off deadstock
The store sold its deadstock at a steep discount to make room.
Unsold winter coats became deadstock by spring.
The accountant flagged a large amount of deadstock on the books.
noununcountableinformal
Brand new, never worn or used items, especially sneakers or clothes, that are old or rare and sold in original condition.
Grammar: Often an adjective-like noun: deadstock sneakers.
Patterns
- deadstock sneakers
- deadstock fabric
He paid a lot for a pair of deadstock sneakers from the 1990s.
Designers use deadstock fabric left over from larger factories.
Collectors say the shoes are only deadstock if the box and tags are untouched.
Common combinations
- deadstock sneakers
- Deadstock sneakers can sell for several times their original price.
- deadstock fabric
- The brand makes jackets from deadstock fabric to reduce waste.
- sell off deadstock
- The shop will sell off its deadstock this weekend.
- write off deadstock
- The firm had to write off its deadstock at year end.
- clear deadstock
- We need to clear deadstock before the new season.
Synonyms and how they differ
- surplus
- Surplus means any extra amount, even if it will sell soon, while deadstock suggests goods that have stopped selling.
- overstock
- Overstock means too much of something currently in demand, whereas deadstock suggests items nobody wants or that were never used.
- remainders
- Remainders usually describes leftover books sold cheaply, so it is narrower than deadstock.
- old stock
- Old stock is a plain description of older inventory, with no sense of rarity or collecting.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: deadstock or dead stock?
deadstock vs dead stock
Written as two words in farming, it can mean livestock that have died; the one-word form is the retail and fashion term.
Practice
A designer made a bag from fabric that a factory never used and had stored for years. The fabric is best called ___.
Choose one answer.
Deadstock is unused goods left in storage. Spoiled stock suggests damaged goods, which is a tempting wrong answer, but the fabric is in good condition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deadstock”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.