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Antonyms for sell


Grammar : Verb
Spell : sel
Phonetic Transcription : sɛl



Definition of sell

Origin :
  • Old English sellan "to give, furnish, supply, lend; surrender, give up; deliver to; promise," from Proto-Germanic *saljan "offer up, deliver" (cf. Old Norse selja "to hand over, deliver, sell;" Old Frisian sella, Old High German sellen "to give, hand over, sell;" Gothic saljan "to offer a sacrifice"), ultimately from PIE root *sel- (3) "to take, grasp."
  • Meaning "to give up for money" had emerged by c.1000, but in Chaucer selle still can mean "to give." Students of Old English learn early that the word that looks like sell usually means "give." An Old English word for "to sell" was bebycgan, from bycgan "to buy."
  • Slang meaning "to swindle" is from 1590s. The noun phrase hard sell is recorded from 1952. To sell one's soul is from c.1570. Sell-by date is from 1972. To sell like hot cakes is from 1839. Selling-point attested from 1959.
  • To sell (someone) down the river is first recorded 1927, but probably from or with recollection of slavery days, on notion of sale from the Upper South to the cotton plantations of the Deep South (attested in this literal sense since 1851).
  • verb exchange an object for money
Example sentences :
  • I've turned peddler, and would like to sell you some blueberries.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • And do women who sell themselves ever find any real pleasure in the bargain?
  • Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
  • Put a halter round her neck, and sell her for a pot of beer.
  • Extract from : « The Armourer's Prentices » by Charlotte M. Yonge
  • It occurred to him that he could sell them at a market store in the village.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • I'll give you two cents a pound for as many as you want to sell.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • Then if they do not sell I will hawk them from door to door.
  • Extract from : « Ballads of a Bohemian » by Robert W. Service
  • These goods which you sell are not to be seen, nor is there any proof that you hold them.
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Then she arranged with a New York house to sell her models on commission.
  • Extract from : « K » by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  • Yes, John; you'll have to sell him right away; I'll be frightened to death while he's about the place.
  • Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser
  • So she, following the example of Lucy, wished to sell everything that she might give.
  • Extract from : « The Dream » by Emile Zola

Synonyms for sell

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019