Are you wondering what the difference is between ‘sell’ and ‘sale’? We’ll go over that in this article, plus teach you how to use them both in a sentence. You’ll also learn how to pronounce both words.
Need a short answer?
Here it is:
- ‘Sell’ is a verb that means to give something in exchange for money or the act of persuading someone to buy something from you.
- ‘Sale’ is a noun, and it refers to the act of exchanging goods for money at a reduced price.
The words ‘sell’ and ‘sale’ sound very similar when you say them, but not quite the same. They’re not homophones, and they should not be used interchangeably.
A Spiel on ‘Sale’ and ‘Sell’
- When someone ‘sells’ something successfully, they’ve made a ‘sale.’
Or when they’re trying to persuade you to buy something, they’re ‘selling’ to you.
- A seller can be a merchant at a department store, a retail chain, or a grocery store, but they can also be someone with an online store or a person selling merchandise (such as handbags or perfume) on the street.
All of those would be considered ‘selling.’
- Once the ‘sale’ is made, the ‘selling’ is done. The seller has done their job successfully and made money from whatever product they’ve sold.
In the movie Matilda, Matilda’s dad is a car salesman, and his job is to ‘sell’ cars.
- So, every time he sells one of his ‘faulty’ cars to a ‘sucker born every minute,’ he has made a ‘sale.’
- He continues ‘selling’ cars with stolen car parts like the crook he is.
‘Sale’ vs. ‘Sell’ – It Pays to Know the Difference
Knowing the difference between these words is crucial if you want your writing to be grammatical and correct.
- ‘Sale’ is a noun that refers to a discounted retail product offer, such as 30 percent off of everything in the store.
‘Sell’ is what you do to make that ‘sale.’
- ‘Sell’ is a verb and is the act of persuading someone to buy something from you.
Definition of ‘Sell’: What Does ‘Sell’ Mean?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘sell’ as:
- Delivering or giving up in violation of duty, trust, or loyalty and especially for personal gain (betrayal).
It could also mean:
- To give up (property) to another for something of value (such as money)
- To offer for sale
- To give up in return for something else, especially foolishly or dishonorably
- To exact a price for
- To deliver into slavery for money
- To give into the power of another
- To deliver personal services for money
- To dispose of our management for profit instead of in accordance with conscience, justice, or duty.
- To develop a belief in truth, value, or desirability of (gain acceptance for)
- To persuade or influence to a course of action or to the acceptance of something
- To impose on (cheat)
- To cause or promote the sale of
- To make or attempt to make sales to
- To induce or induce to make a purchase
- To achieve a sale of
- To dispose of something by sale
- To achieve satisfactory sales
- To have a specified price
- To deliberate deception (hoax)
- Something to be sold or cause to be accepted
- Someone to whom something is sold
- Saddle
Definition of ‘Sale’: What Does ‘Sale’ Mean?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘sale’ as:
- The act of selling (specifically the transfer of ownership of and title to property from one person to another for a price).
It could also mean:
- The opportunity of selling or being sold (demand)
- Distribution by selling
- Public disposal to the highest bidder (auction)
- Selling of goods at bargain prices
- Operations and activities involved in promoting and selling goods and services
- Gross receipts
Synonyms of the word include:
Pronunciation: How to Pronounce ‘Sell’ and ‘Sale’
Are you wondering how to pronounce ‘sell’ and ‘sale’?
Here’s a short guide.
To pronounce ‘sell’ correctly, here’s the phonetic spelling:
SEL
To pronounce ‘sale’ correctly, here’s the phonetic spelling:
SAYL
How to Use ‘Sell’ and ‘Sale’ in a Sentence
Now that you know what both words mean and how to pronounce them, let’s see some examples of how to use them both in a sentence correctly.
Sell
- I don’t think we can sell these jeans in this condition. They’re ripped, but not in a good way. It would reveal a whole lot more than anyone intends to.
- I’m so grateful that I can sell whatever I want in my online store. It’s a beauty bar, so I have to figure out exactly what I want to sell to compete with bigger brands like Fenty Beauty.
- Miss Johnson said we could have anything we wanted from the samples of perfume she sells on the weekend. I took a sample of White Diamonds – I love that smell!
- My friend, Jay, sells old comic books down at the swap meet every other weekend. He says he makes a decent amount of money doing it. Kudos to him.
- I’m sorry, but we don’t sell that brand in this store. You could try to look online because I’m not sure of a place around here that might be able to help you.
- I think it’s about time to sell this car now. It’s had a great run, but I think I’m ready for something new. I realized I wanted a sports car now.
Sale
- Will you hurry up and finish getting ready? I don’t want to miss the sale. I want to get a new pair of shoes to match the dress I got last week.
- I’m sorry, ma’am, but we can’t accept returns for items that were on sale. And it’s also been more than 30 days, so I’m sorry, but we can’t help you.
- My daughter’s school is having its annual bake sale. Do you want to make your famous chocolate chip cookies? If so, I’ll get the cookie sheets.
- Can you sell these items for me on eBay? I’ll give you a percentage of whatever I make on the sales.
- There’s finally a sale on the game I’ve been wanting to get. I’m going to order it online and go pick it up at the store after I get off work. I know I have more games than I can shake a stick at, but I really wanted this new one.
- On the show Ginny and Georgia, Georgia thinks the town should host casino night instead of the yearly bake sale because it offers the chance to make more money (that she can steal for herself). The show is really good. At least, the first season is.
Final Advice on ‘Sell’ and ‘Sale’
To recap, we learned the following:
- ‘Sell’ is a verb that means to give something in exchange for money or the act of persuading someone to buy something from you.
- ‘Sale’ is a noun, and it refers to the act of exchanging goods for money at a reduced price.
Remember, the words ‘sell’ and ‘sale’ sound very similar when you say them, but not quite the same. They’re not homophones, and they should not be used interchangeably.
If you ever get stuck on meaning or usage, you can always come back to review what you learned. We’ve got a ton of other content on confusing words and phrases you might see as you’re learning the language. Go check it out anytime.
