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

See Examples For:

garage sale

I’m hosting a garage sale, and I told my friends that I’d be happy to include their clothing or books if they want to get rid of anything.

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

Families and couples of a certain age might even haul out grandma’s treasured china and give it a good dusting — that is, if you didn’t offload it at a garage sale or eBay.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2025

There are so many Eagle Rock shirts, shorts, chairs and yearbooks that the family could hold a garage sale of Eagle Rock memorabilia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2024

I tilt my head down in shame, look at the worn, shaggy orange rug that was too cheap to pass up at a garage sale.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na