Definition
- Plural
A historical wooden restraint device used as a form of public punishment, where a person's feet, hands, and sometimes head are secured to a frame, forcing them to remain in a sitting or standing position for an extended time.
In that era, criminals were often placed in the stocks in the market square to be displayed.
The local judge sentenced the thief to a day in the stocks in the town square.
They constructed the stocks from wood and iron to display offenders in public.