sold

American  

[sohld] / soʊld /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of sell.

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sold British  

/ səʊld /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of sell

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adjective

1. slang uncritically attached to or enthusiastic about

Other Word Forms

• self-sold adjective
• unsold adjective
• well-sold adjective

Explanation

Something that's sold has been exchanged for money. When new neighbors buy the house across the street, you'll see a sign appear in its front yard that says "Sold." Once you sell something, you can describe it as sold, whether it's a sold item at your yard sale, waiting beside the driveway for its buyer to pick it up, or the sold trees at the Christmas tree farm, marked with colored tape. The word sold comes from sell and its root meaning of "offer up or deliver." Offer up the highest bid on a painting at an auction and you'll hear the auctioneer call out, "Sold!"

Example Sentences

The backdrop for the meltdown was that the issuers of those mortgage securities paid no attention to the credit quality of the underlying assets after they sold them to banks and other financial institutions.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

The Celtic folk singer, songwriter and harpist from the Irish-speaking Donegal Gaeltacht area of Gaoth Dobhair recorded about 25 albums and sold millions of records worldwide.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

YouTuber Logan Paul’s rare Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card sold for $16.5 million, setting a new record for the auction price of a trading card.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Higher short interest means many have sold a stock short, so any business strength could force them to close their short positions by buying shares back.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

They owned subprime mortgage–backed CDOs less for their own sake than for the fees that their deals would generate once they had sold them.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis