Sell | Mean of sell in English Dictionary

/ˈsɛl/

• Verb
• to exchange (something) for money
1. He sold his car.
2. He buys and remodels houses and then sells them at a profit.
3. She sold him a watch for $20. = She sold a watch to him for $20.
4. Stock prices are increasing, so now is a good time to sell.
• to make (something) available to be bought
1. Only a few stores sell that type of equipment.
2. She sells insurance. [=she has the job of selling insurance to people]
3. He is selling his car for $1,000. [=he is offering his car for sale at a price of $1,000]
• to be able to be bought for a particular price
1. Those cookies sell for a dollar apiece.
2. All items in the store are selling at half price.

• to be bought by someone or by many people
1. That house still hasn't sold. [=no one has bought that house]
2. The houses in that neighborhood aren't selling. [=people aren't buying the houses that are for sale in that neighborhood]
3. They hope the new version will sell better than the old one. [=they hope that more people will buy the new version]
4. The dictionary is selling well. [=many people are buying copies of the dictionary]
5. The newest model just didn't sell. [=very few people bought it]
• to cause people to want to buy (something)
1. His name on the cover sells the book.
2. Good advertising sells.
• to persuade someone to accept or approve of (something or someone)
1. He had a difficult time selling his theory to other scientists.
2. You will really have to sell yourself at the interview to get that job.
• to sell (something) especially for a low price in order to get rid of it quickly or to get money that you need
1. He sold off his car so he could move overseas.
2. The family plans to sell some of the property off.
• to persuade (someone) to be interested in and excited about (something)
1. He tried to sell them on the value of the project he was proposing.
2. She wasn't sold on the idea. [=she wasn't convinced that it was a good idea]
• to be bought until no more are available
1. Tickets to the concert sold out quickly.
2. The book has sold out in stores across the country.
• to sell the entire amount of something
1. Many stores sold out quickly when the book was first published.
2. The concert sold out quickly. [=all the tickets to the concert were quickly bought]
• to have sold the entire amount of something
1. “Are there any more tickets?” “No, I'm sorry. We're (all) sold out.” [=we've sold all the tickets]
2. The store was sold out of milk again. [=there was no milk at the store because it had all been sold]
• to sell all of (something)
1. The tickets were (all) sold out quickly. [=all of the tickets were sold quickly]
• to sell all that you own of a business, company, etc.
1. In the end, the other owners forced her to sell out.
• to do something that does not agree with your beliefs, values, etc., especially in order to make money
1. Many of the band's fans accused them of selling out when they started appearing in television commercials.
2. The union sees the deal as selling out to management. [=the union sees the deal as going against their principles and favoring management]
• to do something that harms or causes trouble for (someone who trusted you) in order to get something for yourself
1. She sold out her accomplices [=she told police who her accomplices were] in exchange for a lower sentence.
• to do something that harms (someone who trusted you) especially in order to get something for yourself
1. I can't believe my best friend would sell me down the river.
• to put too low a value on the ability, importance, or quality of (someone or something)
1. Don't sell yourself short. You have some great skills and experience.
2. I think you're selling the book short; it's a lot more interesting than that.
• to sell your possessions, business, etc., especially so that you can move away
1. They were forced to sell up and go out of business.
• to accept money in exchange for sex
• to gain wealth, success, power, etc., by doing something bad or dishonest
1. He has sold his soul (to the devil) for fame and prosperity.
• Noun
• something that is sold
1. Her new novel was an easy sell. [=her new novel sold well; many people wanted to buy it]
2. We need to raise taxes, but that's a tough sell. [=it's hard to persuade people to accept a tax increase]