sell

/sɛl/

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Also a noun

Meaning

  1. To transfer goods, property, or services to another person in exchange for money.

    • He decided to sell his used car for three thousand dollars.

    • Are they selling tickets at the door tonight?

  2. To be bought by customers in a specified quantity or manner.

    • Her debut novel continues to sell well across the country.

    • These compact heaters did not sell at all last winter.

  3. To persuade someone to accept or appreciate an idea, product, or plan.

    • The marketing team worked hard to sell the concept to the board.

    • How did you manage to sell him on that risky proposal?

How it's used

When this means “transfer something for money”

  • sell the car to a neighbor
  • sell a neighbor the car

“sold it to him.”

She sold the vintage guitar to an eager collector.

When this means “persuade someone to accept an idea”

  • sell the client on the plan

“sell them on it.”

We need to sell the client on this creative direction.

Collocations

  • hard sell
  • sell out
  • sell off
  • sell well
  • sell short

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms

  • sell someone out

    to betray someone for personal gain

    The informant chose to sell out his associates to avoid jail time.

  • sell someone short

    to underestimate someone's true abilities or value

    Never sell yourself short when negotiating your salary.

  • sell like hotcakes

    to be bought very quickly and in large quantities

    The new smartphone model began selling like hotcakes on launch day.