garage sale

American  

noun

garage sales plural

1. a sale of used or unwanted household goods, personal items, bric-a-brac, etc., typically held in one's garage or yard.

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garage sale British  

noun

1. a sale of personal belongings or household effects held at a person's home, usually in the garage

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• garage sales
  plural

Etymology

Origin of garage sale

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65

Example Sentences

Friends don’t usually handle each other’s money, but that’s exactly what you’d be doing by selling her items at your garage sale.

From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026

“They’re painting the whole sector with the same brush, and I think that’s been the opportunity to buy some of the winners at garage sale prices,” Ives says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

He gave his gloves away during a garage sale shortly after he quit playing and a grandson took down the few pictures he had hung on the wall.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2025

Having a garage sale isn’t going to stave off economic doom.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2025

She got back to me right away, saying that she never had a garage sale when she lived in Brookline.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks