sell
verb
uk/sel/ ussold | sold [ I or T ] COMMERCE, FINANCE
to give something to someone else in return for money:
sell securities/shares/stock
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?
[ I or T ] COMMERCE
to have something available for people to buy:
sell goods/products/services
On either bank of the river are specialist shops selling designer clothes, books, music and art.
Its products are sold in 150 countries.
We sell directly via a contact sales force.
sell online/over the internet
[ I or T ] COMMERCE, FINANCE
to be bought in the quantities or the way specified:
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.
[ I or T ] MARKETING
to make people want to buy something:
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".
[ T ]
to persuade someone that an idea or plan is a good one, and likely to be successful:
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.
sell yourself
to persuade people that you have the right qualities or abilities for a particular job or in a particular situation:
The phone interview is your one chance to sell yourself.
sell like hot cakes informal
to be bought quickly and in large numbers:
With-profits bonds have sold like hot cakes to older people looking for a low-risk, high return for their money.
Phrasal verbs
sell sth back to sb/sth
sell sth forward
sell into sth
sell sth off
sell sb on sth
sell sth on
sell out
sell through
sell up
sell
noun [ C, usually singular ]
MARKETING uk/sel/ usan act of selling or trying to sell a product or service:
a difficult/hard/tough sell In spite of continuing drought conditions, artificial grass remains a hard sell.
Fear of unemployment make mortgage protection an easy sell.
Compare
sale
an act of trying to persuade someone that something is a good idea:
a hard/difficult/tough sell Tax breaks for developers to build more-expensive housing would be a tough sell.
[ C ] FINANCE, STOCK MARKET (also sell rating)
advice to sell shares in a particular company from a broker:
The broker SG Securities is moving its rating to a sell.
While Merrill has a neutral recommendation, we believe the shares are a sell.
See also
hard sell
soft sell