oversell
Americanverb (used with object)
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to sell more of (a stock, product, etc.) than can be delivered.
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to sell aggressively, as by using high-pressure merchandising techniques.
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to emphasize the good points of excessively and to a self-defeating extent.
She so oversold the picnic that I became convinced I'd have a better time at the movies.
verb (used without object)
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to sell something aggressively.
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to make extreme claims for something or someone.
verb
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(tr) to sell more of (a commodity) than can be supplied
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to use excessively aggressive methods in selling (commodities)
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(tr) to exaggerate the merits of
Etymology
Origin of oversell
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.
See Examples For:
It’s also true that the egg-freezing industry has an incentive to overpromise and oversell.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
“When we are nervous about getting a job we really want, we try to oversell ourselves,” West said.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 23, 2026
“We’re not trying to over-hype or oversell something we can’t deliver.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
Olsen: But when you see that moment in the script, in particular that very distinctive two-word phrase — your delivery of it is so fantastic because you don’t oversell the line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025
But he’s funny as hell up there—sinking to his knees, grasping his head, moaning—and I don’t want to oversell it or anything, but this just may be the most iconic performance of all time.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
“I believe that is grossly overselling what one should expect from those workouts,” said Cedric X. Bryant, CEO of the American Council on Exercise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
It keeps well, travels well — and I swear I’m not overselling — it really is extraordinary.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2025
Kimmelman worries potential overselling of trial benefits isn’t limited to cancer.
From Science Magazine ● May 22, 2024
Investigators for the Government Accountability Office recently went car shopping, undercover, to see whether salespeople were overselling autonomous driving abilities.
From New York Times ● Apr. 30, 2024
Gray had set himself deliberately to the task of selling himself to this gentleman of the press, and, having succeeded, he was enough of a salesman to avoid the fatal error of overselling.
From Flowing Gold by Rex Ellingwood Beach
He’s looking out for more clarity and signs that stocks are oversold from technical signals such as momentum indicators.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
Investors incorrectly linked the company to memory and oversold its shares.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
An administrative error resulted in coach journeys to the Glastonbury Festival being oversold through its official ticketing partner.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Yields surged in the third quarter, and some investors considered Treasurys to be oversold heading into Friday’s session.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Unfortunately, we’re oversold on this flight,” she says.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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