Meaning & use
stock exchange
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Meaning
nouncountablebusinessfinance
a place or electronic system where shares in companies are bought and sold.
Grammar: Countable: 'a stock exchange', 'the stock exchange', 'many stock exchanges'. Often with 'on': 'on the stock exchange'.
Patterns
- on the stock exchange
- a stock exchange
- the New York Stock Exchange
The company's shares began trading on the stock exchange last month.
He made a lot of money on the stock exchange in the 1990s.
The London Stock Exchange is one of the oldest in the world.
Word forms
| plural | stock exchanges |
|---|
Common combinations
- on the stock exchange
- Her shares are listed on the stock exchange.
- the New York Stock Exchange
- The New York Stock Exchange is located on Wall Street.
- trade on the stock exchange
- Only registered companies can trade on the stock exchange.
- a member of the stock exchange
- He became a member of the stock exchange at a young age.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stock market
- Stock market is a more general term that can also refer to the overall level of share prices, while stock exchange usually means the actual organization or place where trading happens.
- bourse
- Bourse is a formal or foreign term for a stock exchange, used especially for European exchanges.
Word family
- stockbroker noun
- A person who buys and sells shares on a stock exchange for clients.
- stock noun
- A share in a company, bought and sold on an exchange.
Commonly confused: stock exchange or stock market?
stock exchange vs stock market
The stock market is the general activity of buying and selling shares; the stock exchange is the specific place or system where it happens. You can say 'the stock market fell' but not usually 'the stock exchange fell'.
Practice
Complete the sentence: 'The company's shares are traded ______ the stock exchange.'
Choose one answer.
We say shares are traded 'on' the stock exchange. 'In' is used for markets in general (in the market), but 'on' is the correct preposition with 'stock exchange'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stock exchange”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.