Question: In online stock trading, do you put money in a brokerage account and then use that money to buy stocks?

sure ...but holding a stock long term can sometimes be the worst possible thing to do - imagine you bought ABC for $18.80 and then a fundamental change happens within that company or it gets shorted heavily on a regular basis so it falls back really fast to $7.20 ..how long do you think it will take to return just to your original buying price ? maybe never...now imagine you hold 5 just like that ...its a wait and hope strategy...that never makes anyone money UNLESS you begin shorting them yourself...or sell as they drift down and find different stocks in an already solid uptrend and then simply ride them for as long as they last...

Answer:

Yep. You can wire or ACH it in, write a check, or open an account and suck it out of your checking, or you can deposit securities (stocks and bonds) into your account and start that way. If you are a newbie, don't be doing a lot of 'trading' or you will soon lose your shirt. Only professionals make money trading. For most of us, stocks are good investments only if held for the long haul, like 10-15 years or more. Diversify and buy for the long haul, and you will grow your wealth over time. Most people will soon go totally broke if they try to make money trading stocks. A better idea is to go to the casino. You will still go broke, but at least you will get some 'free' meals and drinks for your your trouble.

isn't it obvious that you need to fund your account before you can buy / sell...