sell short
Idioms-
Contract for the sale of securities or commodities one expects to own at a later date and at a lower price, as in Selling short runs the risk of a market rise, forcing one to pay more than one expected . [Mid-1800s]
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sell someone short . Underestimate the true value or worth of someone, as in Don't sell her short; she's a very able lawyer . [First half of 1900s]
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.
Members were still free to sell short any Union securities they wished, though.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The fund is known as a 130/30 fund, and the concept is that if you give me $100, I buy attractive names, then sell short $30 worth of stocks we think will underperform.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
To duplicate that return yourself, you would need to buy the highest-momentum stocks and simultaneously sell short an equal dollar amount of the biggest losers.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 22, 2026
It would not be advisable to sell short either Leonard Leo or this Teneo Network, whatever the hell it is.
From Salon • Mar. 18, 2023
He was shocked how much easier and cheaper it was to buy a credit default swap than it was to sell short an actual cash bond—even though they represented exactly the same bet.
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.
