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• sell-off
  sell-off

  noun

  a sudden and marked decline in stock or bond prices resulting from widespread selling.
• sell off
  sell off

  verb

  (tr, adverb) to sell (remaining or unprofitable items), esp at low prices

sell-off

American  

[sel-awf, -of] / ˈsɛlˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

Sometimes selling-off

noun

1. Stock Exchange. a sudden and marked decline in stock or bond prices resulting from widespread selling.

2. an act or instance of liquidating assets or subsidiaries, as by divestiture.

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sell off British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to sell (remaining or unprofitable items), esp at low prices

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sell off Idioms  

1. Get rid of by selling, often at reduced prices. For example, The jeweler was eager to sell off the last of the diamond rings. [c. 1700] Also see sell out, def. 1.

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Etymology

Origin of sell-off

First recorded in 1935–40; noun use of verb phrase sell off

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sell-off sell off

The company faced a major sell-off earlier this year as investors worried it would become a casualty of displacement by artificial-intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

But largely as a result of Tuesday’s sell-off, shares of Dick’s are down around 33% so far this year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Thanks to the bond sell-off, mortgage rates are once again rising.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

UEFA's threat to boycott World Cups if the private investment plan went ahead proved pivotal in Infantino withdrawing his sell-off plan.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

To Steve Eisman at FrontPoint Partners, the market seemed mainly stupid or delusional: A financial culture that had experienced so many tiny panics followed by robust booms saw any sell-off as merely another buying opportunity.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

“If Thursday’s event is merely an unveiling with limited vehicles committed to the road, we expect the stock to sell off through the event.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

Palantir Technologies stock paces toward its worst day since February as Palo Alto Networks and other sector peers sell off.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

The deal involving Kushner comes after he was part of the recent controversy surrounding Fifa president Gianni Infantino and an aborted plan to sell off stakes in the governing body's competitions to private investors.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

In other words, they increasingly go in opposite directions: when chips sell off, healthcare has tended to catch a bid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Why bother to overturn your parents’ world when you can buy it and sell off the pieces?

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• convert
• pay off
• quit
• reimburse
• repay