short selling

British

noun

finance the practice of selling commodities, securities, currencies, etc that one does not have in the expectation that falling prices will enable one to buy them in at a profit before they have to be delivered

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The firm focuses on high-growth internet, software and financial-tech stocks, and doesn’t do any short selling.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

Despite what appears to be a cooling of enthusiasm for companies focused on developing generative artificial intelligence technology, traders might want to think twice before short selling AI-related stocks.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 6, 2026

Another proposal would make the margin required on short selling to increase as the short interest rises.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

Some have responded with calls for tighter rules around short selling and social media-fuelled trading.

From BBC • Oct. 22, 2025

I am informed on good authority—‌though I cannot personally vouch for the correctness of the information—‌that there is no short selling onShort selling Is it justifiable? one nowadays fairly important Stock Exchange,—‌that of Tokyo, Japan.

From The New York Stock Exchange and Public Opinion Remarks at Annual Dinner, Association of Stock Exchange Brokers, Held at the Astor Hotel, New York, January 24, 1917 by Kahn, Otto Hermann

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023