Definitions

common stock

NOUN

investment representing fractional ownership of a company

Synonyms

STRONGEST

common shares ordinary shares

WEAK

junior equity

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Preferred stock is senior to common stock in bankruptcy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

“For generations, it provided a common stock of references and allusions, rivaled only by Shakespeare in this respect,” the late writer Christopher Hitchens wrote in a 2011 essay on the King James Version.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026

The company announced on June 1 that it had confidentially submitted a draft S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed IPO of its common stock.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

The offering funds Alphabet’s $180 billion to $190 billion AI capital expenditures, with conversion to common stock in three years.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

Besides, if we recall our common stock, everyone is justified in regarding himself as a nobleman of the most ancient lineage.

From Simon Eichelkatz; The Patriarch Two Stories of Jewish Life by Frank, Ulrich