/ sel; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( sold , sold / səʊld; NAmE soʊld/)
EXCHANGE FOR MONEY
1.
sell sth (to sb) (at / for sth) | sell sb sth (at / for sth) to give sth to sb in exchange for money :
[ vn , vnn ]
I sold my car to James for £800.
I sold James my car for £800.
[ vn ]
They sold the business at a profit / loss (= they gained / lost money when they sold it) .
[ v ]
We offered them a good price but they wouldn't sell.
OFFER FOR SALE
2.
[ vn ] to offer sth for people to buy :
Most supermarkets sell a range of organic products.
Do you sell stamps?
to sell insurance
—compare cross-selling
BE BOUGHT
3.
to be bought by people in the way or in the numbers mentioned; to be offered at the price mentioned :
[ vn ]
The magazine sells 300 000 copies a week.
[ v ]
The book sold well and was reprinted many times.
The new design just didn't sell (= nobody bought it) .
The pens sell for just 50p each.
➡ note at cost
PERSUADE
4.
to make people want to buy sth :
[ v ]
You may not like it but advertising sells.
[ vn ]
It is quality not price that sells our products.
5.
[ vn ] sell sth / yourself (to sb) to persuade sb that sth is a good idea, service, product, etc.; to persuade sb that you are the right person for a job, position, etc. :
Now we have to try and sell the idea to management.
You really have to sell yourself at a job interview.
TAKE MONEY / REWARD
6.
[ vn ] sell yourself (to sb) ( disapproving ) to accept money or a reward from sb for doing sth that is against your principles
SYN prostitute
—see also sale
•
IDIOMS
- be sold on sth
- sell your body
- sell sb down the river
- sell sb / yourself short
- sell your soul (to the devil)
—more at hot adjective , pup
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- sell sth off
- sell sth on
- sell out | be sold out
- sell out (of sth) | be sold out (of sth)
- sell out (to sb/sth)
—related noun sell-out
- sell up | sell sth up
■ noun
[ sing. ] ( informal ) something that is not as good as it seemed to be :
The band only played for about half an hour—it was a real sell.
—see also hard sell
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English sellan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse selja give up, sell. Early use included the sense give, hand (something) over voluntarily following a request .