sell
gb/sˈɛl/ us/sˈɛl/
A1
Anglais
~ 500
Sens
0 sens
Verbe
A1
action
1
Exchange goods for money
To give something to another person and get money from them.
Schéma d’usage :
to sell [something] to [someone]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse 'sell' with 'sale'. 'Sell' is the verb, while 'sale' is the noun.
Synonymes
trade (More general; can include barter without money.)
|
market (Often implies promoting or advertising as part of selling.)
Antonymes
buy (The opposite transaction: receiving goods in exchange for paying money.)
Collocations
sell products
|sell tickets
|sell a house
|sell online
|sell directly
Thèmes
business
|daily life
|commerce
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- They sell fresh bread at the bakery every morning.
- The store sells clothes for children and adults.
- She decided to sell her old car online.
- We sell organic vegetables at the farmers' market.
- He sells insurance for a living.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I want to sell my bike.
- They sell fruit at the shop.
- She sells flowers.
- We sell books in this store.
- He sells milk to the school.
Verbe
B1
action
2
Persuade about value or benefits
To make someone believe that something is good or useful.
Schéma d’usage :
to sell [someone] on [something]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may interpret 'sell someone on something' literally, thinking it always involves money.
Synonymes
promote (Focuses more on publicizing; may not involve direct persuasion in conversation.)
|
convince (General term for causing someone to believe or agree.)
Antonymes
discourage (To make someone less likely to accept or support something.)
Collocations
sell an idea
|sell a plan
|sell yourself
|sell a proposal
Thèmes
communication
|business
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- She sold me on the idea of taking a trip to Japan.
- The manager sold the board on his new marketing strategy.
- He sold his team on working overtime by explaining the benefits.
- It's hard to sell people on change without clear advantages.
Exemples pédagogiques
- She sold me on the movie.
- He sold them on his plan.
- They sold us on the new phone.
- He sold her on the trip idea.
Nom
B2
event
3
Act of selling something
The act of giving something to a person and getting money from them.
Erreur fréquente :
Some learners confuse 'sell' (noun) with 'sale'. The noun 'sell' is less common and often informal compared to 'sale'.
Synonymes
transaction (General term for an exchange; not limited to sales.)
Collocations
hard sell
|easy sell
Thèmes
business
|commerce
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The new product was an easy sell to customers.
- Convincing them was a hard sell, but we managed it.
- That idea will be a tough sell in this market.
Exemples pédagogiques
- It was an easy sell.
- The car was a hard sell.
- This book will be a good sell.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
sell
API
GB/sˈɛl/
US/sˈɛl/
Syllabes et accentuation
sell (1 syllabe)
Stress on 1st syllable (sell)
Formes du mot
Noun
- Base: sell
Verb
- Base: sell
- 3rd Person Singular: sells
- Present Participle: selling
- Past: sold
- Past Participle: sold
Famille de mots
Forms
sells
verb
selling
verb
sold
verb
Related words
Negative and opposite forms
unsold
adjective
Advanced or less common
reseller
noun B2
sellable
adjective
Points clés
- Irregular past: sold Verb
- Irregular past participle: sold Verb
Expressions
sell off
1/sˈɛl ˈɔf/
phrasal verb
Sell goods cheaply and quickly
To sell things at a low price so they are gone fast.
Exemples
- The store is selling off old stock at half price.
- They decided to sell off their extra equipment.
sell out
1/sˈɛl ˈaʊt/
phrasal verb
Have no stock left to sell
To have no more of something because people bought it all.
Exemples
- The tickets sold out within an hour.
- All the bread sold out before noon.
sell up
1/sˈɛl ˈʌp/
phrasal verb
Sell all property or belongings
To sell everything you own, often before moving or ending a business.
Exemples
- They sold up and moved abroad.
- The farmer decided to sell up after 40 years.
soft sell
1/sˈɔft sˈɛl/
fixed phrase
Gentle persuasion technique
A way of trying gently to make someone buy or accept something.
Exemples
- The ad campaign takes a soft sell approach.
- He prefers the soft sell when talking to clients.
hard sell
1/hˈɑɹd sˈɛl/
fixed phrase
Aggressive persuasion technique
A way of trying very strongly to make someone buy or accept something.
Exemples
- The salesman used a hard sell to close the deal.
- The salesman used a hard sell to push the product.
- I don't like the hard sell approach.