ˈsell-out BrE AmE , sell‧out /ˈselaʊt/ noun [singular]
1 . a performance, sports game etc for which all the tickets have been sold:
The concert was expected to be a sell-out.
a sellout crowd of 32,000
2 . informal a situation in which someone has not done what they promised to do or were expected to do by the people who trusted them:
a sellout of the poor for political reasons
3 . informal someone who has not done what they promised to do or who is not loyal to their friends or supporters, especially in order to become more popular, richer etc:
Many black students regarded him as a sellout.
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THESAURUS
■ something that is popular
▪ bestseller a book that a lot of people buy:
His prize-winning book ‘A Year in Provence’ became an international bestseller.
▪ blockbuster a film that a lot of people watch, especially an exciting film:
a Hollywood blockbuster
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a blockbuster movie
▪ hit something such as a song, show, or film which is very popular and successful:
The band played all their old hits.
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The film was a box-office hit (=a lot of people went to see it at the cinema) .
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She stars in ABC’s hit show ‘Desperate Housewives’.
▪ sell-out a concert, sports event etc which so many people want to see that all the tickets are sold:
The concert was a sell-out.
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the band’s sell-out tour of the US
▪ cult movie/band/figure etc a film, band, person etc that has become very popular and fashionable with a particular group of people:
a cult TV programme
▪ craze something that suddenly becomes popular, so that a lot of people do it, buy it etc:
the latest dance craze that has been sweeping the US
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the craze for ultra expensive designer jeans
▪ fad informal something that is very popular for a short time – used about something that you disapprove of, which you do not think will last for very long:
Most diets are just fads.
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I think it’s a passing fad.