sell
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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sells,
present (3rd person singular)
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sold,
past participle, past
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selling
present participle
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to transfer (goods) to or render (services) for another in exchange for money; dispose of to a purchaser for a price.
He sold the car to me for $1000.
- Antonyms:
- buy
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to deal in; keep or offer for sale.
He sells insurance. This store sells my favorite brand.
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to make a sale or offer for sale to.
He'll sell me the car for $1000.
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to persuade or induce (someone) to buy something.
The salesman sold me on a more expensive model than I wanted.
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to persuade or induce someone to buy (something).
The clerk really sold the shoes to me by flattery.
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to make sales of.
The hot record sold a million copies this month.
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to cause to be accepted, especially generally or widely.
to sell an idea to the public.
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to cause or persuade to accept; convince.
to sell the voters on a candidate.
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to accept a price for or make a profit of (something not a proper object for such action).
to sell one's soul for political power.
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to force or exact a price for.
The defenders of the fort sold their lives dearly.
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Informal. to cheat, betray, or hoax.
verb (used without object)
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sells,
present (3rd person singular)
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sold,
past participle, past
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selling
present participle
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to engage in selling something.
Investment advisors agree that it’s time to sell.
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to be sold; to draw sales: The game sold poorly in Japan.
His album is selling well.
The game sold poorly in Japan.
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to offer something for sale.
I like this house—will they sell?
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to be employed to persuade or induce others to buy, as a salesperson or a clerk in a store.
One sister is a cashier and the other sells.
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to have a specific price; be offered for sale at the price indicated (followed by at orfor ).
Eggs used to sell at sixty cents a dozen. This shirt sells for thirty dollars.
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to be in demand by buyers.
On a rainy day, umbrellas really sell.
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to win acceptance, approval, or adoption.
Here's an idea that'll sell.
noun
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an act or method of selling.
Your home could be a profitable sell.
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Stock Exchange. a security to be sold.
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Informal. a cheat; hoax.
verb phrase
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sell out
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to dispose of entirely by selling.
They sold out of Johnny's brownies before the bake sale was half over.
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to betray (an associate, one's country, one’s principles, a cause, etc.).
He would never sell out to the enemy.
-
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sell up to sell out.
She was forced to sell up her entire stock of crystal.
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sell off to sell, especially at reduced prices, in order to get rid of.
The city is selling off a large number of small lots at public auction.
idioms
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sell someone a bill of goods, bill of goods.
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sell short. short.
noun
verb
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to dispose of or transfer or be disposed of or transferred to a purchaser in exchange for money or other consideration; put or be on sale
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to deal in (objects, property, etc)
he sells used cars for a living
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(tr) to give up or surrender for a price or reward
to sell one's honour
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to promote or facilitate the sale of (objects, property, etc)
publicity sells many products
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to induce or gain acceptance of
to sell an idea
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(intr) to be in demand on the market
these dresses sell well in the spring
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informal (tr) to deceive or cheat
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to persuade to accept or approve (of)
to sell a buyer on a purchase
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informal to betray
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to convince someone else of one's potential or worth
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to give up one's moral or spiritual standards, etc
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-
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informal to disparage or belittle
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finance to sell securities or goods without owning them in anticipation of buying them before delivery at a lower price
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noun
Synonym Usage
See trade.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sellsimple
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sellssimple
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have soldperfect
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has soldperfect
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am sellingprogressive
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are sellingprogressive
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is sellingprogressive
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have been sellingperfect progressive
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has been sellingperfect progressive
Past
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soldsimple
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had soldperfect
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was sellingprogressive
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were sellingprogressive
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had been sellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sell
First recorded before 900; Middle English sellen, Old English sellan, originally, “to give,” hence, “to give up (someone) to an enemy, betray, exchange for money”; cognate with Old Norse selja, Low German sellen, Gothic saljan “to give up, sell,” originally, “to cause to take”; akin to Greek heleîn “to take, grasp”
Explanation
To sell is to exchange a thing or a service for money. You could sell lemonade from a table on the sidewalk, or sell hotdogs at a baseball game. When a business or store carries certain products for purchase, they sell those things; a car lot sells automobiles, and a bookstore sells books and magazines. Sometimes people say that an item "sells at" or "sells for" a certain price: "Normally, those candy bars sell for a dollar each." When something sells out, it's totally gone, but when a person sells out, they give up their principles for money or popularity.
Vocabulary lists containing sell
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:
“I’m not trying to sell myself,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
The internet as we knew it might have been torn down to the studs by Silicon Valley bigwigs looking to sell the wiring for scrap, but the bones are still good.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Brown, who reflected on the situation in a recent Substack post, was willing to sell the book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Palace do not want to sell their star forward, who scored 21 goals in all competitions last season as the Eagles won the Community Shield and the Conference League.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
She has a closet of clothes any fashionista would sell their soul to get a peek at.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
The country sells gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and is a top exporter of petrochemical feedstocks, such as ethylene, that are used for manufacturing plastics, packaging materials and other everyday goods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
As ever sells jams, teas, candles and other products "crafted to elevate your everyday and inspire moments of joy", and there is no indication that it will end when she moves across the Atlantic.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
To have enough money to keep up with federal spending, the government sells bonds to banks, private companies, other countries’ governments, and even individuals.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Kissei Pharmaceutical, which sells the drug in Japan, said in May that 20 deaths had been reported among people using the it since 2022.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Well, my dad is. He sells lamps. And when I grow up I’m going to be a salesman, too. I’m going to sell hangers.”
From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
In a survey this month from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 40% of exporters reported that they sold products that would be targeted by the tariffs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The hype was so big he sold out Pauley Pavilion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Palmer - sold by City for £40m in 2023 - would demand a similar fee if he were to leave Stamford Bridge.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Drugs sold as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound can produce substantial weight loss while helping patients control blood sugar.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
We don’t moan about what we have lost after we’ve sold everything—since we can’t take it with us, there’s no point.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Elon Musk, best known for disdaining fossil fuels and selling close to 10 million electric vehicles, is actively advocating natural-gas turbines for data centers and chip factories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
He said exporters had committed to selling the beef at 25% below current market prices.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
That’s because, in March, my wife and I bought an L.A. condo where we’ll move after downsizing and selling our New Jersey house to be closer to our two grown sons, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
More than 200 businesses have emerged around the site, according to local officials, selling food, water and other essentials to the village's new population.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
He didn’t know who, or why, or how much, but he knew that some giant corporate entity with a triple-A rating was out there selling credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
