sell : Idioms & Phrases


best-selling

  • adjective satellite selling in great numbers
    • a best-selling novel
WordNet

hard sell

  • noun forceful and insistent advertising
WordNet

sell off

  • verb get rid of by selling, usually at reduced prices
    • The store sold off the surplus merchandise
WordNet

sell out

  • verb get rid of all one's merchandise
    sell out; liquidize.
  • verb give information that compromises others
WordNet

sell short

  • verb sell securities or commodities or foreign currency that is not actually owned by the seller, who hopes to cover (buy back) the sold items at a lower price and thus to earn a profit
  • verb underestimate the real value or ability of
    • Don't sell your students short--they are just shy and don't show off their knowledge
WordNet

sell up

  • verb get rid of all one's merchandise
    sell out; liquidize.
WordNet

sell-by date

  • noun a date stamped on perishable produce indicating the date by which it should be sold
WordNet

selling agent

  • noun someone who sells goods (on commission) for others
WordNet

selling point

  • noun a characteristic of something that is up for sale that makes it attractive to potential customers
WordNet

selling price

  • noun the price at which something is offered for sale
    asking price.
WordNet

selling race

  • noun a horse race in which the winning horse must be put up for auction
WordNet

short selling

  • noun sale of securities or commodity futures not owned by the seller (who hopes to buy them back later at a lower price)
    short sale.
WordNet

soft sell

  • noun suggestive or persuasive advertising
WordNet

sold-out

  • adjective satellite having taken a bribe or bribes
    • a sold-out politician
  • adjective satellite sold completely in advance
    • had a sold-out house for both performances
WordNet

To sell (anything) out

  • to dispose of it wholly or entirely; as, he had sold out his corn, or his interest in a business.
Webster 1913

To sell bargains

  • to make saucy ( usually indelicate) repartees. Obs. Swift.
Webster 1913

To sell one's life dearly

  • to cause much loss to those who take one's life, as by killing a number of one's assailants.
Webster 1913

To sell out

  • to sell one's whole stockk in trade or one's entire interest in a property or a business.
Webster 1913

To sell short

  • (Stock Exchange), to sell, for future delivery, what the party selling does not own, but hopes to buy at a lower rate.
Webster 1913