What does sell mean?
Sell means to transfer ownership of a property, product, or service to another person in exchange for payment. It is also used more broadly to describe making goods available for purchase, as in a company that sells clothing, or persuading someone to accept an idea, proposal, or plan. The verb often appears with commercial objects and transactions: a person may sell a car, sell software subscriptions, or sell tickets for a performance. In less formal English, sell can also describe betraying someone's confidence by disclosing information or acting against them, though this sense is normally qualified by a phrase such as sell someone out. Although buy and purchase are antonyms of sell, purchase often suggests a more formal or financially significant transaction. The word is central to commerce but also common in political, cultural, and personal contexts.
verbTo transfer ownership of a property, good, or service to someone in exchange for money. It can also mean to offer something for purchase, persuade someone to accept something, or, informally, to betray someone's trust.
- To transfer ownership of something in exchange for money.
- To offer or make something available for purchase.
- To persuade someone to accept or agree to something.
- Informally, to betray someone or expose them to harm.
"The family decided to sell their country home after several years abroad."
"The shop sells locally made furniture and recycled home accessories."
"I tried to sell the idea to my manager, but she was not convinced."
The word sell once meant simply “give”; its modern association with money reflects a later narrowing of that older, broader sense.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sell come from?
Sell comes from Old English sellan, which meant “to give” or “hand over.” The verb later acquired its narrower commercial sense of giving something in exchange for money. It is cognate with modern Germanic forms such as Swedish sälja, Icelandic selja, Norwegian selge, and Nynorsk selje, all meaning “to sell.”
Related word forms
How sell is actually used
Sell is the standard general term for transferring goods or property in return for payment. In informal contexts, it can also mean to persuade someone to accept an idea, while phrases such as sell out can have the separate meaning of betraying someone. The related noun sale is used for an individual transaction or for the business of selling.
Easily confused with sell
A cell is an enclosed space or a biological unit, whereas sell means to transfer something in exchange for money.