Meaning & use
stocktaker
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebusiness
A person whose job is to count and check the goods that a business keeps in stock.
Grammar: Countable: say a stocktaker, two stocktakers.
Patterns
- work as a stocktaker
- hire a stocktaker
- a professional stocktaker
The company hired a stocktaker to check the warehouse before the audit.
As a stocktaker, she visits different stores and counts their inventory.
Stocktakers often work at night so the shop can stay open during the day.
Word forms
| plural | stocktakers |
|---|
Common combinations
- work as a stocktaker
- He works as a stocktaker for a chain of supermarkets.
- hire a stocktaker
- They hired a stocktaker to verify the figures.
- an experienced stocktaker
- An experienced stocktaker can finish the count in one night.
- independent stocktaker
- An independent stocktaker confirmed the final numbers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inventory clerk
- Inventory clerk is the common American job title for similar work, often in an office rather than on the shop floor.
- auditor
- An auditor checks financial records, which is broader and more formal than counting physical stock.
Word family
- stocktake noun
- A British noun for the counting process itself.
- stocktaking noun
- The activity of counting and checking stock.
Commonly confused: stocktaker or stockholder?
stocktaker vs stockholder
A stockholder owns shares in a company, while a stocktaker counts goods in a warehouse or shop.
Practice
Which person is most likely to count the goods in a warehouse?
Choose one answer.
A stocktaker's job is to count and check stock. A stockholder owns shares and a stockbroker trades them, so neither does this work.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stocktaker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.