2 VERB If a shop sells a particular thing, it is available for people to buy there. □ [V n] It sells everything from hair ribbons to oriental rugs. □ [be V -ed] Bean sprouts are also sold in cans. [Also V n n]
3 VERB If something sells for a particular price, that price is paid for it. □ [V + for/at ] Unmodernised property can sell for up to 40 per cent of its modernised market value.
4 VERB If something sells , it is bought by the public, usually in fairly large quantities. □ [V ] Even if this album doesn't sell and the critics don't like it, we wouldn't ever change. □ [V adv] The company believes the products will sell well in the run-up to Christmas.
5 VERB Something that sells a product makes people want to buy the product. □ [V n] It is only the sensational that sells news magazines. □ [V ] …car manufacturers' long-held maxim that safety doesn't sell.
6 VERB If you sell someone an idea or proposal, or sell someone on an idea, you convince them that it is a good one. □ [V n n] She tried to sell me the idea of buying my own paper shredder. □ [V n + to ] She is hoping she can sell the idea to clients. □ [V n + on ] An employee sold him on the notion that cable was the medium of the future. □ [V -ed] You know, I wasn't sold on this trip in the beginning.
7 PHRASE If someone sells their body , they have sex for money. □ 85 per cent said they would rather not sell their bodies for a living.
8 PHRASE If someone sells you down the river , they betray you for some personal profit or advantage. □ He has been sold down the river by the people who were supposed to protect him.
9 PHRASE If you sell someone short , you do not point out their good qualities as much as you should or do as much for them as you should. □ They need to improve their image–they are selling themselves short.
10 PHRASE If you talk about someone selling their soul in order to get something, you are criticizing them for abandoning their principles. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …a man who would sell his soul for political viability.
▸ sell off
1 PHRASAL VERB If you sell something off , you sell it because you need the money. □ [V P n] The company is selling off some sites and concentrating on cutting debts. □ [V n P ] We had to sell things off to pay the brewery bill.
2 → see also sell-off
▸ sell on PHRASAL VERB If you buy something and then sell it on , you sell it to someone else soon after buying it, usually in order to make a profit. □ [V n P ] Mr Farrier bought cars at auctions and sold them on. □ [V n P + to ] The arms had been sold to a businessman; he sold them on to paramilitary groups.
▸ sell out
1 PHRASAL VERB If a shop sells out of something, it sells all its stocks of it, so that there is no longer any left for people to buy. □ [V P + of ] Hardware stores have sold out of water pumps and tarpaulins. □ [V P ] The next day the bookshops sold out.
2 PHRASAL VERB If a performance, sports event, or other entertainment sells out , all the tickets for it are sold. □ [V P ] Football games often sell out well in advance.
3 PHRASAL VERB When things sell out , all of them that are available are sold. □ [V P ] Tickets for the show sold out in 70 minutes.
4 PHRASAL VERB If you accuse someone of selling out , you disapprove of the fact that they do something which used to be against their principles, or give in to an opposing group. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V P ] The young see him as a politician who will not sell out or make compromises. □ [V P + to ] …a new play about an ageing British punk band tempted to sell out to corporate capitalism.
5 PHRASAL VERB Sell out means the same as sell up . [AM ] □ [V P ] I hear she's going to sell out and move to the city.
6 → see also sell-out , sold out
▸ sell up PHRASAL VERB If you sell up , you sell everything you have, such as your house or your business, because you need the money. [BRIT ] □ [V P ] …all these farmers going out of business and having to sell up. □ [V P n] He advised Evans to sell up his flat and move away to the country. in AM, use sell out
se ll-by date (sell-by dates )
1 N‑COUNT The sell-by date on a food container is the date by which the food should be sold or eaten before it starts to decay. [BRIT ] □ …a piece of cheese four weeks past its sell-by date. in AM, use expiration date
2 PHRASE If you say that someone or something is past their sell-by date , you mean they are no longer effective, interesting, or useful. [BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ] □ As a sportsman, he is long past his sell-by date.
sell|er /se lə r / (sellers )
1 N‑COUNT [n N ] A seller of a type of thing is a person or company that sells that type of thing. □ …a flower seller. □ [+ of ] …the world's largest seller of organic food.
2 N‑COUNT In a business deal, the seller is the person who is selling something to someone else. □ In theory, the buyer could ask the seller to have a test carried out.
3 N‑COUNT [adj N ] If you describe a product as, for example, a big seller , you mean that large numbers of it are being sold. □ Our biggest seller is a heavy jersey tailored dress.
4 → see also best seller