Skip to main content
American Stock Exchange

American Stock Exchange

4 4.9
A stock market in New York City where smaller companies trade shares
  • noun
  • /əˈmɛrɪkən stɑk ɪksˈʧeɪndʒ/
translation icon : Bolsa de Valores Americana
  • Many companies choose to list their shares on the American Stock Exchange to reach a broader audience.
  • trade on the American Stock Exchange
  • listed on the American Stock Exchange
  • chairman of the American Stock Exchange

Examples

  • The biggest ones are the American Stock Exchange in New York and a nationwide computerized system called NASDAQ, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system.

    Academic text (1992)
  • In 1977, Peterffy left his job designing commodities trading software and purchased his own seat on the American Stock Exchange, where he began trading options.

    Blog text (23)
  • So if you have an exchange over here, let's call it the American Stock Exchange, right?

  • And it is my great privilege to welcome The Washington Post Company... to the American Stock Exchange.

  • You have the Amex, the American Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ tech heavy NASDAQ exchange.

  • Odyssey Marine Exploration, for example, is publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange and files regular reports on its activities to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The American Stock Exchange allows investors to trade stocks and securities not listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

  • With its diverse range of securities, the American Stock Exchange is a key player in the financial market.

Synonyms

AMEX
vsAmerican Stock Exchange
7 5.6

A stock market in New York City where people buy and sell company shares

is the full formal name rather than the shortened one
Curb
vsAmerican Stock Exchange
  • US
3 8.2

A former New York stock exchange now called NYSE American

is the current institutional name rather than a historical label
NYSE MKT
vsAmerican Stock Exchange
6.3

A New York stock market that lists shares of small and medium-sized companies

is the more common name rather than that alternative label

Surface Forms

Morphology

American + stock + exchange

The meaning is directly compositional: 'American' (related to the United States) + 'stock' (shares) + 'exchange' (a market for trading) yields 'a stock market in the United States.' Although it is a specific proper name, it follows ordinary noun-compounding patterns and would be readily understood by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

American Stock Exchange gets its name from its early days as the 'New York Curb Exchange', when traders stood on the street curb to shout and trade shares of smaller companies. That image of curb trading later became an organized market in New York, so today American Stock Exchange means a New York stock market for companies not listed on the big NYSE.