sold
ˈsōld 
; selling
; selling
1
: to deliver or give up in violation of duty, trust, or loyalty and especially for personal gain : betray
—often used with out
sell out their country
2
a(1)
: to give up (property) to another for something of value (such as money)
(2)
: to offer for sale
b
: to give up in return for something else especially foolishly or dishonorably
sold his birthright for a mess of pottage
c
: to exact a price for
sold their lives dearly
3
a
: to deliver into slavery for money
b
: to give into the power of another
sold his soul to the devil
c
: to deliver the personal services of for money
4
: to dispose of or manage for profit instead of in accordance with conscience, justice, or duty
sold their votes
5
a
: to develop a belief in the truth, value, or desirability of : gain acceptance for
trying to sell a program to the Congress
b
: to persuade or influence to a course of action or to the acceptance of something
sell children on reading
6
: to impose on : cheat
7
a
: to cause or promote the sale of
using television advertising to sell cereal
b
: to make or attempt to make sales to
c
: to influence or induce to make a purchase
8
: to achieve a sale of
sold a million copies
1
: to dispose of something by sale
thinks now is a good time to sell
2
: to achieve a sale
also
: to achieve satisfactory sales
hoped that the new line would sell
3
: to have a specified price
sell
4 of 4chiefly Scottish variant of self
Synonyms
Examples of sell in a Sentence
Verb
He buys and remodels houses and then sells them at a profit.
Stock prices are increasing, so now is a good time to sell.
Only a few stores sell that type of equipment.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Artists with studio space at the art center also can partner with the Zhou B Art Center by using the application Artsy to sell their work.
—J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Launched by chef Tom Ferguson in 2012 as a small single storefront in Durham, N.C., Rise started out selling just biscuits, doughnut and coffee.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
The property sold to George Dong was the Thompsons’ original home built in 1895, along F Avenue where George rented a room.
—Ashley Ahn, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
For example, General Motors’ Chevrolet brand sold 37,588 Trax small SUVs in the quarter, more than a fivefold increase from a year ago.
—Tom Krisher, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Perhaps the most recent instance of women being left out of heart disease research can be seen in the trials of highly popular diabetes drugs such as semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy.
—Maggie Fox, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
On Thursday, a copy of Action Comics No. 1—in which Superman appears for the first time—sold for a record-setting $6 million.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
—Sara Smart, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024
That may be a tough sell with Republicans on Capitol Hill, particularly in a presidential election year.
—Joel Rose, NPR, 29 Mar. 2024
Part of this is a marketing problem, as ride comfort—something EV upstart Lucid has staked a large part of its existence on—is an easier sell than sustainable materials, and part of it is also that the fundamental nature of selling cars has changed in the era of luxury EVs.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 25 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan wrote to clients Wednesday that the electric vehicle maker’s growth in core markets has moderated, downgrading the stock to the equivalent of a sell rating.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2024
Representing the sell side, Hurley talked about the matchmaking that happens between brands and shows.
—Ariel Shapiro, The Verge, 7 Mar. 2024
Choose your tenants wisely Moving your mom or children into an ADU is an easy sell.
—Keith Wagstaff, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, Tencent, HSBC, and Hong Kong Exchanges were small net sells.
—Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
That helped make her next venture, focused on cancer drugs that can counteract tumors’ evolution, an easy sell to investors.
—Damian Garde Reprints, STAT, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
His parents found work in factories and small shops, and Martín sold pastries on the street to help bring in extra money.
—Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Artists with studio space at the art center also can partner with the Zhou B Art Center by using the application Artsy to sell their work.
—J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Launched by chef Tom Ferguson in 2012 as a small single storefront in Durham, N.C., Rise started out selling just biscuits, doughnut and coffee.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
The property sold to George Dong was the Thompsons’ original home built in 1895, along F Avenue where George rented a room.
—Ashley Ahn, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
For example, General Motors’ Chevrolet brand sold 37,588 Trax small SUVs in the quarter, more than a fivefold increase from a year ago.
—Tom Krisher, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Perhaps the most recent instance of women being left out of heart disease research can be seen in the trials of highly popular diabetes drugs such as semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy.
—Maggie Fox, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
On Thursday, a copy of Action Comics No. 1—in which Superman appears for the first time—sold for a record-setting $6 million.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
—Sara Smart, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024
Noun
Serious drama without a celebrity draw is an extremely tough sell in this era of entertainment-on-demand and social media hypnosis.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024
That may be a tough sell with Republicans on Capitol Hill, particularly in a presidential election year.
—Joel Rose, NPR, 29 Mar. 2024
Part of this is a marketing problem, as ride comfort—something EV upstart Lucid has staked a large part of its existence on—is an easier sell than sustainable materials, and part of it is also that the fundamental nature of selling cars has changed in the era of luxury EVs.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 25 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan wrote to clients Wednesday that the electric vehicle maker’s growth in core markets has moderated, downgrading the stock to the equivalent of a sell rating.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2024
Representing the sell side, Hurley talked about the matchmaking that happens between brands and shows.
—Ariel Shapiro, The Verge, 7 Mar. 2024
Choose your tenants wisely Moving your mom or children into an ADU is an easy sell.
—Keith Wagstaff, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, Tencent, HSBC, and Hong Kong Exchanges were small net sells.
—Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
That helped make her next venture, focused on cancer drugs that can counteract tumors’ evolution, an easy sell to investors.
—Damian Garde Reprints, STAT, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sell.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sell. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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