Meaning & use
doing inventory
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
the activity of counting and checking all the goods or supplies that a business has in stock
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; it often follows 'be' or verbs like 'start' or 'finish': We're doing inventory today.
Patterns
- be doing inventory
- start doing inventory
- finish doing inventory
The store is closed on Sunday because the staff are doing inventory.
We spent all morning doing inventory in the stockroom.
Doing inventory takes longer when the shelves are disorganized.
Common combinations
- do inventory
- The manager asked us to do inventory before the weekend.
- annual inventory
- The annual inventory showed that some items were missing.
- inventory count
- Please double-check the inventory count for the small sizes.
- take inventory
- We need to take inventory of the office supplies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stocktaking
- Common in British English; it means the same activity but is not usually used in American English.
- stock check
- A more general term for checking stock, which may be less formal and not always a full count.
Word family
- inventory noun
- The full list or supply of goods a business has.
Commonly confused: doing inventory or invention?
doing inventory vs invention
Invention is creating something new; inventory is counting what you already have.
Practice
The shop will be closed tomorrow because the staff are ___ inventory.
Choose one answer.
'Doing inventory' is the usual phrase for counting stock. 'Taking inventory' is also possible, but 'making inventory' and 'giving inventory' are not used in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “doing inventory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.