- plural of sale.
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.
The iPhone maker said it expected slower December-quarter sales growth in its services segment — albeit compared with record levels in the prior quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
Booking Holdings reported lower profit and sales in the third quarter as global travel demand slowed due to persistent geopolitical tensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The third-largest U.S. theater chain beat expectations on surging sales fueled by loyalty programs.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
Anthropic also relies heavily on a few partners, including Microsoft and Google, for nearly half its sales.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
The next day, I had a few small sales.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
