preferred stock

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Capital stock having priority over a corporation's common stock in the distribution of dividends and often of assets.

Wiktionary

1. n. finance Stock with a dividend, usually fixed, that is paid out of profits before any dividend can be paid on common stock and that has priority to common stock in liquidation.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. stock which takes a dividend before other capital stock; -- called also preference stock and preferential stock.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. stock whose holders are guaranteed priority in the payment of dividends but whose holders have no voting rights