selling

sell  (sl)

v. sold (sld), sell·ing, sells

v.tr.

1. To exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent.

2. To offer for sale, as for one's business or livelihood: The partners sell textiles.

3. To give up or surrender in exchange for a price or reward: sell one's soul to the devil.

4. To be purchased in (a certain quantity); achieve sales of: a book that sold a million copies.

5.

a. To bring about or encourage sales of; promote: Good publicity sold the product.

b. To cause to be accepted; advocate successfully: We sold the proposal to the school committee.

6. To persuade (another) to recognize the worth or desirability of something: They sold me on the idea.

v.intr.

1. To exchange ownership for money or its equivalent; engage in selling.

2. To be sold or be on sale: Grapes are selling high this season.

3. To attract prospective buyers; be popular on the market: an item that sells well.

4. To be approved of; gain acceptance.

n.

1. The activity or method of selling.

2. Something that sells or gains acceptance in a particular way: Their program to raise taxes will be a difficult sell.

3. Slang A deception; a hoax.

Phrasal Verbs:

sell off

To get rid of by selling, often at reduced prices.

sell out

1. To put all of one's goods or possessions up for sale.

2. Slang To betray one's cause or colleagues: He sold out to the other side.

Idioms:

sell a bill of goods Informal

To take unfair advantage of.

sell down the river Informal

To betray the true trust or faith of.

sell short

1. To contract for the sale of securities or commodities one expects to own at a later date and at more advantageous terms.

2. To underestimate the true value or worth of: Don't sell your colleague short; she's a smart lawyer.

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[Middle English sellen, from Old English sellan, to give, sell.]

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sella·ble adj.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

selling - the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money marketing, merchandising bait and switch - a deceptive way of selling that involves advertising a product at a very low price in order to attract customers who are then persuaded to switch to a more expensive product private treaty - a sale of property at a price agreed on by the seller and buyer without an intervening agency bootlegging - the act of making or transporting alcoholic liquor for sale illegally; "the Prohibition amendment made bootlegging profitable" bootlegging - the act of selling illegally or without permission; "the bootlegging of videotapes is common in Asia" capitalisation, capitalization - the sale of capital stock commerce, commercialism, mercantilism - transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services) marketing - the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service; "most companies have a manager in charge of marketing" retail - the selling of goods to consumers; usually in small quantities and not for resale wholesale - the selling of goods to merchants; usually in large quantities for resale to consumers sale - a particular instance of selling; "he has just made his first sale"; "they had to complete the sale before the banks closed" syndication - selling (an article or cartoon) for publication in many magazines or newspapers at the same time; "he received a comfortable income from the syndication of his work" dumping - selling goods abroad at a price below that charged in the domestic market dutch auction - a method of selling in which the price is reduced until a buyer is found retailing - the activities involved in selling commodities directly to consumers telecommerce, telemarketing, teleselling - the use of the telephone as an interactive medium for promotion and sales peddling, vending, vendition, hawking - the act of selling goods for a living resale - the selling of something purchased sale - the general activity of selling; "they tried to boost sales"; "laws limit the sale of handguns"