sales
Americannoun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of sales
First recorded in 1820–30, for the adjective
Explanation
When a company’s sales are down, it hasn’t been making money. The word sales refers to income. If a bathing suit company’s sales are low, it should stop making wool bikinis. Sales is also the plural of “sale.” If a jewelry maker is worried about sales during the year's slow months, he might offer a discount. And when a big company focuses too much on sales, they sometimes lose track of the other aspects of doing business. Stores have big sales. The job or activity of selling things is also known as sales, so you could have a sales job, or even a title like "Director of Sales" or "sales representative."
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.
Sales volumes recovered, but Nestlé fired Freixe in September 2025 after the company said an internal investigation found he had an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
Sales were higher even with relatively elevated mortgage rates.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Sales nationally grew 11.2% from year-ago levels among homes priced above $1 million, the greatest percentage gain across price categories.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
Sales of new bikes dropped 8% last year, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Eventually Chacko got a brief, badly paid assignment with the Overseas Sales Department of the India Tea Board.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
