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:
If the couple gives $10,000 of shares to Grandma, she could sell them, pay no tax, and fund the grandchildren’s 529 plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Heckle said the decision to sell was "not taken lightly" but it was "time for retirement".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
"They exploit fear and uncertainty to sell unproven products."
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The Treasury plans to sell $22 billion of 30-year bonds, a day after a strong 10-year Treasury auction briefly improved the jittery tone in markets around rising yields globally.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
One man’s liability had always been another man’s asset, but now more and more of the liabilities could be turned into bits of paper that you could sell to anyone.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Christy orchestrates the elaborate stagecraft that sells the illusion of a bustling organization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Yancoal's Hunter Valley mine expansion was approved by NSW with the condition it only sells coal to nations that have signed the Paris Agreement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“After a long day—I work from home—I like to just get out of the house,” said Harper, who sells fraud-protection services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Also working in Microsoft’s favor is its existing customer base, which gives it an advantage as it sells its AI tools to customers.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Henderson sells motors—he has a whole shelf of them.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
Walmart then sold the company to Symbotic last year at a loss for $200 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The auction drew $2.77 in bids for every $1 of bonds being sold, well above the recent average.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The three items were sold to a British private collector at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in the Cotswolds on Wednesday, fetching a hammer price of £5,000 - double the estimate.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
And it’s not always the case that airlines have intentionally sold more tickets than seats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The billion dollars whoever had sold Mike Burry his credit default swaps stood to lose, if the bonds went bad, replicated the potential losses of an actual bond owner.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Amid the 2026 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, videos of a doctor recommending Vitamin D3 and zinc spread from accounts selling supplements, despite these being unable to treat the disease.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Investors adjusted in ways that led to selling of longer-term Treasurys, including 10-year notes and 30-year bonds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A strong auction could calm markets more, while weak previous auctions of long-end bonds have been prone to sparking fresh rounds of selling in global sovereign-debt markets, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
From identifying players, to providing pathways, integrating them into the team and then selling at the right time, it is a strategy which has worked, year after year.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“These have been selling very well,” the clerk enthuses, taking a delicate, ribboned silk blouse out of the tray in front of her.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
