sell
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
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.
- Antonyms:
- buy
-
to deal in; keep or offer for sale.
He sells insurance. This store sells my favorite brand.
-
to make a sale or offer for sale to.
He'll sell me the car for $1000.
-
to persuade or induce (someone) to buy something.
The salesman sold me on a more expensive model than I wanted.
-
to persuade or induce someone to buy (something).
The clerk really sold the shoes to me by flattery.
-
to make sales of.
The hot record sold a million copies this month.
-
to cause to be accepted, especially generally or widely.
to sell an idea to the public.
-
to cause or persuade to accept; convince.
to sell the voters on a candidate.
-
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.
-
to force or exact a price for.
The defenders of the fort sold their lives dearly.
-
Informal. to cheat, betray, or hoax.
verb (used without object)
-
to engage in selling something.
Investment advisors agree that it’s time to sell.
-
to be sold; to draw sales: The game sold poorly in Japan.
His album is selling well.
The game sold poorly in Japan.
-
to offer something for sale.
I like this house—will they sell?
-
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.
-
to have a specific price; be offered for sale at the price indicated (followed by at orfor ).
Eggs used to sell at sixty cents a dozen. This shirt sells for thirty dollars.
-
to be in demand by buyers.
On a rainy day, umbrellas really sell.
-
to win acceptance, approval, or adoption.
Here's an idea that'll sell.
noun
-
an act or method of selling.
Your home could be a profitable sell.
-
Stock Exchange. a security to be sold.
-
Informal. a cheat; hoax.
verb phrase
-
sell out
-
to dispose of entirely by selling.
They sold out of Johnny's brownies before the bake sale was half over.
-
to betray (an associate, one's country, one’s principles, a cause, etc.).
He would never sell out to the enemy.
-
-
sell up to sell out.
She was forced to sell up her entire stock of crystal.
-
sell off 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.
idioms
-
sell someone a bill of goods, bill of goods.
-
sell short. short.
noun
verb
-
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
-
to deal in (objects, property, etc)
he sells used cars for a living
-
(tr) to give up or surrender for a price or reward
to sell one's honour
-
to promote or facilitate the sale of (objects, property, etc)
publicity sells many products
-
to induce or gain acceptance of
to sell an idea
-
(intr) to be in demand on the market
these dresses sell well in the spring
-
informal (tr) to deceive or cheat
-
to persuade to accept or approve (of)
to sell a buyer on a purchase
-
informal to betray
-
-
to convince someone else of one's potential or worth
-
to give up one's moral or spiritual standards, etc
-
-
-
informal to disparage or belittle
-
finance to sell securities or goods without owning them in anticipation of buying them before delivery at a lower price
-
noun
Related Words
See trade.
Other Word Forms
- sellable adjective
Etymology
Origin of sell
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”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mint, said he’d caution against drawing any long-term trend from central-bank sales because each one has different reasons to sell.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026
Even more so, perhaps, to the casual fans, the ones that determine whether the Angels sell three million tickets in any given year.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
Congress passed another law further regulating large compounders that sell medications to doctors’ offices and hospitals rather than individual patients.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
He’s championed the idea of having a Chrysler model to sell that’s not a minivan.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
“I will walk to Ballilee and sell my shawl. It is almost finished.”
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
