short sale

noun

1. an act or instance of selling short.

Word History and Origins

Origin of short sale¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Traders should get ready by selling stocks, either to raise cash to put to work later or via short sales that bring gains when prices fall.

Read more on Barron's

In a statement, the SEC said Citadel Securities over a five-year period had incorrectly marked millions of orders, denoting short sales as long sales and vice versa.

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The move, according to the bank's prime brokerage unit, was mainly led by short sales, meaning that hedge funds were speculating on a decline in energy stocks' prices.

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Indeed, the bankers say, short sales have followed “relatively favorable earnings reports.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The S.E.C. has the enforcement capability to look at what people are doing by name in options, derivatives, short sales,” he told Bloomberg.

Read more on New York Times