sell-off

Sometimes sell·ing-off

[sel-awf, -of]

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.

sell off

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sell off¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

The UK's stock market has fallen sharply after a warning from two US banks sparked a widespread sell-off in global shares.

Read more on BBC

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a “massive sell-off” driven by broader market jitters over bad bank loans and tariff threats.

Read more on Barron's

“But this is an even more dangerous dynamic because we are not seeing a slip in a thin market, but rather a massive sell-off in search of a new bottom.”

Read more on Barron's

The event that sparked discussion of U.S. intervention was a sharp sell-off of the Argentine currency, the peso, as well as the country’s stocks and bonds.

Read more on Salon

In particular, this month the Bank will set out its plans for the sell-off its own stock of government debt, amassed over years.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• convert 
• pay off 
• quit 
• reimburse 
• repay