| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ transitive verb
1. : to sell more than can be advantageously purchased
sometimes oversell their prospects, thereby laying the foundation for later defaults — H.E.Hoagland
2. : to sell beyond means of delivery
3.
a. : to make excessive claims for
doesn't pay to oversell an attraction — W.L.Gresham
opinion research may be oversold — J.A.R.Pimlott
should not seek to oversell psychiatry — Eugene Davidoff
b. : to cause to have an exaggerated opinion of the value or importance of something
only to find that you have been slightly oversold — W.J.Reilly
permitted the public to be oversold on the importance of increasing reading rate — G.D.Spache
intransitive verb
1. : to oversell something or someone
great caution must be observed by public relations people not to overstate or oversell — L.A.Appley
2. : to be excessively zealous or aggressive in selling something