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presell

American  
[pree-sel] / priˈsɛl /

verb (used with object)

presold, preselling
  1. to sell in advance, as before manufacture or construction.

    to presell a planned house.


presell British  
/ priːˈsɛl /

verb

  1. to promote (a product, entertainment, etc) with publicity in advance of its appearance

  2. to prepare (the public) for a product, entertainment, etc, with advance publicity

  3. to agree a sale of (a product) before it is available

  4. to sell (a book) before its publication date

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of presell

First recorded in 1945–50; pre- + sell 1


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 used to be that you would presell a home and then start construction, because homebuilding is less risky when you know there’s a buyer.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2022

The way it worked for the Panama City project was that the Trumps and their partners had to presell a certain number of units to be able to sell bonds to fund the project.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2018

“Let your customers fund your idea. Sell first, build later, presell, run lean until you see demand. Don’t run out of money “

From Washington Post ● Jul. 4, 2015

Others might opt to use an accounting method known as “accrual,” which can let those who presell items hold off on recognizing the income until the goods are delivered to customers.

From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2015

Plug-and-play online platforms are making it painless to presell and fulfill products on demand, driving the increasing popularity of crowdfunding among Youtube celebrities.

From Forbes ● Dec. 23, 2014

Graystone is currently preselling homes, and 60% of the introductory collection has been reserved.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 16, 2021

Evergrande has fueled much of its expansion by preselling apartments, leaving it with hundreds of thousands of unfinished projects that it will need to complete or offload.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2021

Moselle, the luxury condo complex there, developed by Chicago-based Argent Group, is preselling units from $295,000 to $1.15 million, many of them designed with a view of the water and downtown skyline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2018

They had planned to secure funding by preselling distribution rights, a common tactic in the independent film business.

From New York Times ● May 7, 2015

It's the highest preselling superhero movie ever, Los Angeles-based Fandango said.

From Los Angeles Times

New York City will soon get its first one — the 11-story luxury River’s Edge building, which is more than 85% presold.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

The new album, Born Pink, set for release on Sept. 16, presold more than 1.5 million copies in a week, double the number of the group's first album, YG said.

From Reuters ● Aug. 19, 2022

Tommy Thoensen, general manager of Lee Johnson Nissan of Kirkland, said all electric Leafs have been presold before they arrive at the dealership.

From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2022

CTG is lucky, though, she says, because it has a devoted subscriber base and has presold a solid chunk of tickets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2022

My foreign rights agent, Danny Baror, has presold a number of foreign editions:

From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

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