26984 words

sell

15 definitions • 43 examples
1
to give something to someone else in return for money:

Examples:

[ + two objects ] I sold him my car/I sold my car to him for $600.
We'll be selling the tickets at/for £50 each.
2
to be bought in the way or quantities that are mentioned; to be sold at the price mentioned :

Examples:

These baskets sell well (= a lot of them are bought).
Their last album sold over a hundred thousand copies.
How much does the phone sell for?
3
to persuade someone that an idea or plan is a good one and likely to be successful:

Examples:

My boss is very old-fashioned and I'm having a lot of trouble selling the idea of working at home occasionally.
The filmmakers sold me on the idea that my book would work on the screen.
[ + two objects ] The chance of greater access to European markets would help sell the president the plan/sell the plan to the president.
In an interview, you have to sell yourself to the employer.
4
to give a thing or perform a service in exchange for money:

Examples:

[ T ] The children sold lemonade.
[ I ] These baskets sell well (= people buy a lot of them).
5
to persuade someone to accept an idea or plan, or to cause something to be accepted:

Examples:

[ T ] That is a plan we can easily sell to the school board.
6
to give something to someone else in return for money:

Examples:

sell a car/company/house
The 43% owner of the company indicated that it was ready to sell.
sell sth to sb/sth The partners plan to sell 40% of the company to investors.
sell sb sth We are going to sell him our car.
sell to sb/sth The site could be built on if the owners decided to sell to private developers.
sell sth at $10/$100, etc. It raised $180 million Monday by selling 7.2 million shares at $25 apiece.
sell sth at a loss/markup/profit The business was sold at an enormous profit.
sell sth for $10/$100, etc. How much did you sell your house for?
7
to have something available for people to buy:

Examples:

Its products are sold in 150 countries.
We sell directly via a contact sales force.
sell online/over the internet
8
to be bought in the quantities or the way specified:

Examples:

sell fast/well The watches are selling well through the group's retail outlets.
sell at $10/$100, etc. The stock is currently selling at 11 times earnings estimates.
sell for $10/$100, etc. The games console will sell for $349.
The company had problems with overstocking and products that didn't sell.
The magazine is now selling 225,000 copies a week.
9
to make people want to buy something:

Examples:

Price and delivery are only two elements of the marketing mix that sells products.
It's a cliche of advertising to say that "sex sells".
10
to persuade someone that an idea or plan is a good one, and likely to be successful:

Examples:

He is trying to sell an idea for a TV comedy.
sell sth to sb The government sold spending cuts to the public as a way to get the economy growing again.
11
to persuade people that you have the right qualities or abilities for a particular job or in a particular situation:

Examples:

The phone interview is your one chance to sell yourself.
12
to be bought quickly and in large numbers:

Examples:

With-profits bonds have sold like hot cakes to older people looking for a low-risk, high return for their money.
13
an act of selling or trying to sell a product or service:

Examples:

Fear of unemployment make mortgage protection an easy sell.
14
an act of trying to persuade someone that something is a good idea:

Examples:

a hard/difficult/tough sell Tax breaks for developers to build more-expensive housing would be a tough sell.
15
advice to sell shares in a particular company from a broker:

Examples:

The broker SG Securities is moving its rating to a sell.
While Merrill has a neutral recommendation, we believe the shares are a sell.

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