The stock market is a place where people buy and sell ownership shares of companies. When you buy a stock, you literally become a part-owner of that company.

Think of it like this: if a company is a pizza cut into 1,000 slices, each slice is a "share." Buying 10 shares means you own 1% of the pizza.

Companies sell shares to raise money for growth, and investors buy shares hoping the company will grow and their shares will become more valuable.