Meaning & use
too much stock
Last updated
Meanings
phraseuncountablebusiness
more goods kept for sale than you need or can sell
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun phrase: 'We have too much stock.' Not 'too many stocks' unless you mean shares in companies.
Patterns
- have too much stock
- carry too much stock
- too much stock in something
The shop closed because it had too much stock and not enough customers.
After the holiday season, many retailers are left with too much stock.
phraseidiomfigurative
too much trust or belief placed in someone or something
Grammar: Usually in the pattern 'put too much stock in someone/something'. Often used in negative sentences: 'Don't put too much stock in what he says.'
Patterns
- put too much stock in someone
- put too much stock in something
I wouldn't put too much stock in that rumor; it's probably not true.
She puts too much stock in online reviews when choosing a restaurant.
Common combinations
- too much stock in something
- Don't put too much stock in his advice.
- carry too much stock
- The company carried too much stock and had to lower prices.
- be left with too much stock
- We were left with too much stock after the sale ended.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overstock
- A verb or noun meaning to have more goods than needed; it is more technical and used in business contexts.
- excess inventory
- A formal business term for extra goods; 'too much stock' is more conversational.
Opposites
Commonly confused: too much stock or too many stocks?
too much stock vs too many stocks
'Stocks' usually means shares in companies, not goods for sale. 'Too much stock' is about inventory.
Practice
Complete the sentence: 'Don't put too much ______ in what you read online.'
Choose one answer.
'Put too much stock in something' is a fixed phrase meaning to trust it too much. 'Stocks' would refer to shares and does not fit the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “too much stock”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.