sell out

British  

verb

1. Also (chiefly Brit): sell up.  to dispose of (supplies of something) completely by selling

2. informal (tr) to betray, esp through a secret agreement

3. informal (intr) to abandon one's principles, standards, etc

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noun

1. informal a performance for which all tickets are sold

2. a commercial success

3. informal a betrayal

4. informal a person who betrays their principles, standards, friends, etc

sell out Idioms  

1. Dispose of entirely by selling. For example, The rancher finally sold out to the oil company , or The tickets to the concert were sold out a month ago . [Late 1700s]

2. Betray one's cause or colleagues, as in He sold out to the other side . [ Slang ; late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

With every EFP round came fresh promises they would never sell out to "big beer".

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

Analysts say individual investors are simply more prone to sell out when an asset class underperforms expectations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

Meanwhile, Lucas was pushing Coppola to do a studio film for hire to keep his fledgling Zoetrope Studio afloat, making Coppola feel pressured to sell out.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

He chronicles how Coppola pressured Lucas to accept changes to his first feature, “THX 1138,” so the studio would release it while Lucas viewed that as Coppola pushing him to sell out.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

“Did you already sell out everything at your market stall?”

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce