sell

¹

[ sel ]

verb (used with object)

, sold, sell·ing.

1. to transfer (goods) to or render (services) for another in exchange for money; dispose of to a purchaser for a price:

   He sold the car to me for $1000.

   Synonyms: vend, exchange

   Antonyms: buy

2. to deal in; keep or offer for sale:

   He sells insurance. This store sells my favorite brand.

3. to make a sale or offer for sale to:

   He'll sell me the car for $1000.

4. to persuade or induce (someone) to buy something:

   The salesman sold me on a more expensive model than I wanted.

5. to persuade or induce someone to buy (something):

   The clerk really sold the shoes to me by flattery.

6. to make sales of:

   The hot record sold a million copies this month.

7. to cause to be accepted, especially generally or widely:

   to sell an idea to the public.

8. to cause or persuade to accept; convince:

   to sell the voters on a candidate.

9. to accept a price for or make a profit of (something not a proper object for such action):

   to sell one's soul for political power.

10. to force or exact a price for:

    The defenders of the fort sold their lives dearly.

11. Informal. to cheat, betray, or hoax.

verb (used without object)

, sold, sell·ing.

1. to engage in selling something:

   Investment advisors agree that it’s time to sell.

2. to be sold; to draw sales: The game sold poorly in Japan.

   His album is selling well.

   The game sold poorly in Japan.

3. to offer something for sale:

   I like this house—will they sell?

4. to be employed to persuade or induce others to buy, as a salesperson or a clerk in a store:

   One sister is a cashier and the other sells.

5. to have a specific price; be offered for sale at the price indicated (followed by at or for ):

   Eggs used to sell at sixty cents a dozen. This shirt sells for thirty dollars.

6. to be in demand by buyers:

   On a rainy day, umbrellas really sell.

7. to win acceptance, approval, or adoption:

   Here's an idea that'll sell.

noun

1. an act or method of selling:

   Your home could be a profitable sell.

2. Stock Exchange. a security to be sold.
3. Informal. a cheat; hoax.

verb phrase

1. 1. to dispose of entirely by selling:

      They sold out of Johnny's brownies before the bake sale was half over.

   2. to betray (an associate, one's country, one’s principles, a cause, etc.):

      He would never sell out to the enemy.

2. British. to sell out:

   She was forced to sell up her entire stock of crystal.

3. to sell, especially at reduced prices, in order to get rid of:

   The city is selling off a large number of small lots at public auction.

sell

²

[ sel ]

noun

, Scot.

1. self.

sell

/ sɛl /

verb

1. to dispose of or transfer or be disposed of or transferred to a purchaser in exchange for money or other consideration; put or be on sale
2. to deal in (objects, property, etc)

   he sells used cars for a living

3. tr to give up or surrender for a price or reward

   to sell one's honour

4. to promote or facilitate the sale of (objects, property, etc)

   publicity sells many products

5. to induce or gain acceptance of

   to sell an idea

6. intr to be in demand on the market

   these dresses sell well in the spring

7. informal.
   tr to deceive or cheat
8. trfoll byon to persuade to accept or approve (of)

   to sell a buyer on a purchase

9. sell down the river informal.
   to betray
10. sell oneself
    1. to convince someone else of one's potential or worth
    2. to give up one's moral or spiritual standards, etc
11. sell short
    1. to disparage or belittle
    2. finance to sell securities or goods without owning them in anticipation of buying them before delivery at a lower price

noun

1. the act or an instance of selling Compare hard sell soft sell
2. informal.
   1. a trick, hoax, or deception
   2. a great disappointment

      the service in the hotel was a sell

Derived Forms

• ˈsellable, adjective

Other Words From

• sell·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sell¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English sellen, Old English sellan, originally, “to give,” hence, “to give up (someone) to an enemy, betray, exchange for money”; cognate with Old Norse selja, Low German sellen, Gothic saljan “to give up, sell,” originally, “to cause to take”; akin to Greek heleîn “to take, grasp”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sell¹

Old English sellan to lend, deliver; related to Old Norse selja to sell, Gothic saljan to offer sacrifice, Old High German sellen to sell, Latin cōnsilium advice

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. sell someone a bill of goods, Informal. bill of goods ( def 3 ).
2. sell short. short ( def 50 ).

More idioms and phrases containing sell

• hard sell
• like hot cakes, sell

Synonym Study

See trade.

Example Sentences

It would also increase unemployment, since most undocumented immigrants generate excess demand for additional services that will disappear with them, because this is what happens when you shrink the population of people that you can sell things to.

From Slate

Polymarket users can buy and sell shares to predict everything from election results to whether TikTok will be banned.

From Salon

To survive, the miners and undocumented migrants go beneath the surface to escape poverty and dig up gold to sell it on the black market.

From BBC

And I get the impulse to sell tickets to folks who didn’t pay to catch the show in person.

From Los Angeles Times

After Kalkhoven died in 2022, his estate put its 50% stake in the race up for sale and Forsythe bought it last March, promising to keep it an IndyCar event while also preparing to sell.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advertise
• auction
• close
• handle
• hawk
• market
• move
• peddle
• trade