unstock

From un- +‎ stock.

unstock (third-person singular simple present unstocks, present participle unstocking, simple past and past participle unstocked)

1. (transitive) To remove the stock (store or supply) from; to empty of goods.
   • 1792, Arthur Young, Annals of Agriculture and Other Useful Arts, page 521:

     And where open for the whole year, and it would be attended with great advantage to unstock and shut up the same at particular seasons, two-thirds in number and value of commoners, with consent of lord of manor, or his steward, may direct what time they shall be unstocked and shut up;

   • 1978, The industrial arbitration reports, New South Wales:

     One I met during the inspections of freezer rooms indicated that her principal function was the stocking and unstocking of the freezer room at a very large supermarket.

   • 2001, Richard L. Hershatter, The Spy Who Hated Licorice, page 13:

     She has an apartment in the Mile High City with a well-stocked bar, and by then I'll really be in the mood to help her unstock it .

   • 2018, Kirk Wallace Johnson, The Feather Thief:

     No doubt they answer admirably the purpose of stocking a Museum; but they unstock the world – and that is a terrible consideration.

   • 2020, A.M. Masset, Truth Will Last Forever:

     Since I had to unstock the fridge and grab the prezzies from under the tree I agreed at meeting him at mums' house.

2. (transitive) To remove the stock (block or support) from; to release from that which fixes in place.
   • 1870, George Henry Preble, The First Cruise of the United States Frigate Essex, page 63:

     Directed the master to unstock one of the anchors and store it below .

   • 1887, Basil Tozer, Practical Hints on Shooting, page 30:

     Of course it is necessary to unstock the gun before beginning this experiment , and be careful while pouring in the sulphur that it does not overflow and run down the ribs or sides of the barrels;

   • 2015, E. F. Knight, Handbook of Seamanship, page 739:

     It is a good rule in any case of letting go an old-fashioned anchor when aground, to unstock it and foul the flukes with several turns of cable.

3. (transitive) To remove (a ship etc.) from the stocks.
   • 1831, Henry Howard, “The Fourth Book of Virgil's Æneid”, in The Poems of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, page 171:

     Where the Troyans fast Fell to their work, from the shore to unstock High rigged ships:

   • 2005, Dennis S Martin, Nasty Little Secrets, page 195:

     It took the guys a good half hour, once home, to position, unhook and unstock the Lady Rose. Reese insisted on covering the boat with a special tarp when it was not in use.

4. (figurative) To free up or release.
   • 1988, Beoy Kui Ng, The Development and Growth of Foreign Exchange Markets in the SEACEN Countries, page 13:

     When commercial banks cannot unstock their open positions, i.e., either overbought or oversold at the retail level, they normally trade among themselves to balance their positions and avoid unnecessary exchange risks.

   • 2018, Aiye-ko ooto, Quo Vadis, page 560:

     Clear forewarn of the early rains, but it never gathered enough precipitation, Yet the face of the earth remained foggy unmoving, without rains, Deep in thought I figured, what can unstock this weathering process.

   • 2023, Jean-louis Penin, Coaching SDHEA for beginners, page 102:

     When you unstock icons to send a memory into your thoughts, there is no reflection, or value or logic judgment that intervenes.

unstock (comparative more unstock, superlative most unstock)

1. Not ordinary, basic, or cliché; atypical.
   • 1961, Charles Beaumont, ‎William F. Nolan, Omnibus of Speed: An Introduction to the World of Motor Sport, page 104:

     It was as unstock as a hot rod . But it was all we had for a practice car .

   • 1989, Rodney Jones, Transparent Gestures, page 13:

     And pinned to the seats of Tyler Wilson's outlandishly unstock Ford While, from the opposite side of the valley, scalding in each curve, came the black din And brunt of Sonny Walker's highjacker Chevrolet, everyone screaming

   • 1998, Alain De Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life:

     Proust's novel is filled with people who behave in unstock ways.

• stuck on