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

Sell out by trying to jump on the disco bandwagon in the late 1970s.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2023

Sell out concerts on back-to-back nights at Madison Square Garden 50 years after debuting.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2023

Sell out out merch at every show for the last few decades.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2023

Sell out from what, he asks; why would he want to cling to the life he had?

From The Guardian • Jul. 30, 2010

Sell out to them what understands the curious of the things, clear yerselfs of the perplexin' risks—ye won't bag a bit of the game, you won't.

From Our World, Or, the Slaveholder's Daughter by Adams, F. Colburn (Francis Colburn)