- 1 [transitive, intransitive] to give something to somebody in exchange for money sell something (to somebody) (for something) I sold my car to James for £800. sell somebody something (for something) I sold James my car for £800. sell (something) (at something) They sold the business at a profit/loss(= they gained/lost money when they sold it). We offered them a good price but they wouldn't sell. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbcheaply verb + sellbe able to, can, want to, … prepositionat, for, to, … phrasessell something at a discount, sell something at a loss, sell something at a premium, … adverbcheaply See full entry See related entries: Marketing, Buying a home offer for sale
- 2 [transitive] sell something to offer something for people to buy Most supermarkets sell a range of organic products. Do you sell stamps? to sell insurance compare cross-selling Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbcheaply verb + sellbe able to, can, want to, … prepositionat, for, to, … phrasessell something at a discount, sell something at a loss, sell something at a premium, … adverbcheaply See full entry be bought
- 3 [transitive, intransitive] to be bought by people in the way or in the numbers mentioned; to be offered at the price mentioned sell (something) The magazine sells 300 000 copies a week. Their last album sold millions. The book sold well and was reprinted many times. The new design just didn't sell (= nobody bought it). sell for/at something The pens sell for just 50p each. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbcheaply verb + sellbe able to, can, want to, … prepositionat, for, to, … phrasessell something at a discount, sell something at a loss, sell something at a premium, … adverbcheaply See full entry persuade
- 4[intransitive, transitive] to make people want to buy something You may not like it but advertising sells. sell something It is quality not price that sells our products.
- 5 [transitive] sell something/yourself (to somebody) to persuade somebody that something is a good idea, service, product, etc.; to persuade somebody that you are the right person for a job, position, etc. Now we have to try and sell the idea to management. You really have to sell yourself at a job interview. take money/reward
- 6[transitive] sell yourself (to somebody) (disapproving) to accept money or a reward from somebody for doing something that is against your principles synonym prostitute see also sale Word OriginOld English sellan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse selja ‘give up, sell’. Early use included the sense ‘give, hand (something) over voluntarily following a request’. More Like This Verbs with two objects bet, bring, build, buy, cost, get, give, leave, lend, make, offer, owe, pass, pay, play, post, promise, read, refuse, sell, send, show, sing, take, teach, tell, throw, wish, writeSee worksheet. Extra examplesIt will be hard to sell 3 000 tickets. Many banks are willing to buy and sell shares on behalf of customers. She sold her car to a friend. Some of these cars are actually being sold at a loss. The company has been forced to sell land to recoup some of the losses. The novel was expected to sell between 1 000 and 1 500 copies. The painting was sold at auction for $11.3 million. The property proved hard to sell. They are still trying to sell their house. They sold their house for $847 000. This medicine is sold over the counter. We sell these little notebooks at €1 each. Your broker has the right to sell your shares. He works for a company that sells insurance. Most grocery stores sell a range of organic products. They sold the business at a profit/loss. We offered them a good price but they wouldn’t sell.Idioms
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BrE BrE//sel//; NAmE NAmE//sel//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they sell BrE BrE//sel//; NAmE NAmE//sel//
he / she / it sells BrE BrE//selz//; NAmE NAmE//selz//
past simple sold BrE BrE//səʊld//; NAmE NAmE//soʊld//
past participle sold BrE BrE//səʊld//; NAmE NAmE//soʊld//
-ing form selling BrE BrE//ˈselɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈselɪŋ//
Marketing, Buying a home(informal) to be very enthusiastic about something We were really sold on the idea.
to sell quickly or in great numbers
to have sex with somebody in exchange for money
(informal) to give poor or unfair treatment to somebody you have promised to help From the custom of buying and selling slaves on the plantations on the Mississippi River in America. Slaves who caused trouble for their masters could be sold to plantation owners lower down the river, where conditions would be worse.
(old-fashioned, British English, informal) to sell somebody or be sold something that has no value or is worth much less than the price paid
to not value somebody/yourself highly enough and show this by the way you treat or present them/yourself
to do anything, even something bad or dishonest, in return for money, success or power Phrasal Verbssell offsell onsell outsell up
Check pronunciation: sell
