sell

/sel/ verb (sold, sold)

Definition

› [I or T] COMMERCE, FINANCE to give something to someone else in return for money: sell securities/shares/stock sell a car/company/house The 43% owner of the company indicated that it was ready to sell.sell sth to sb/sth The partners plan to sell 40% of the company to investors.sell sb sth We are going to sell him our car.sell to sb/sth The site could be built on if the owners decided to sell to private developers.sell sth at $10/$100, etc. It raised $180 million Monday by selling 7.2 million shares at $25 apiece.sell sth at a loss/markup/profit The business was sold at an enormous profit.sell sth for $10/$100, etc. How much did you sell your house for?

› [I or T] COMMERCE to have something available for people to buy: sell goods/products/services On either bank of the river are specialist shops selling designer clothes, books, music and art. Its products are sold in 150 countries. We sell directly via a contact sales force. sell online/over the internet

› [I or T] COMMERCE, FINANCE to be bought in the quantities or the way specified: sell fast/well The watches are selling well through the group's retail outlets.sell at $10/$100, etc. The stock is currently selling at 11 times earnings estimates.sell for $10/$100, etc. The games console will sell for $349. The company had problems with overstocking and products that didn't sell. The magazine is now selling 225,000 copies a week.

› [I or T] MARKETING to make people want to buy something: Price and delivery are only two elements of the marketing mix that sells products. It's a cliche of advertising to say that "sex sells".

› [T] to persuade someone that an idea or plan is a good one, and likely to be successful: He is trying to sell an idea for a TV comedy.sell sth to sb The government sold spending cuts to the public as a way to get the economy growing again.

sell yourself › to persuade people that you have the right qualities or abilities for a particular job or in a particular situation: The phone interview is your one chance to sell yourself.

sell like hot cakes informal › to be bought quickly and in large numbers: With-profits bonds have sold like hot cakes to older people looking for a low-risk, high return for their money.

(Definition of sell verb from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)