sale

noun

ˈsāl 

1

: the act of selling

specifically : the transfer of ownership of and title to property from one person to another for a price

2

a

: opportunity of selling or being sold : demand

b

: distribution by selling

3

: public disposal to the highest bidder : auction

4

: a selling of goods at bargain prices

5

sales plural

a

: operations and activities involved in promoting and selling goods or services

vice president in charge of sales

b

: gross receipts

Phrases

for sale

: available for purchase

on sale

1

: for sale

2

: available for purchase at a reduced price

Synonyms

• transaction
• deal
• auction
• purchase
• bargain

Examples of sale in a Sentence

They profited from the sale of the house.

Sales are up by $6,000 this month.

The company made over one million dollars in sales this quarter.

The store is having a spring sale.

Everything in the store will be 15 percent off during the sale.

There is a sale on flights between New York and Paris.

He has a job in sales.

The department is in charge of sales and marketing.

Recent Examples on the Web

The company reported that the Nashville Snooki Shop leads all four locations in daily sales, content engagement and foot traffic. —Hadley Hitson, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Oct. 2025

Keep scrolling to see more of the best patio deals at Wayfair’s Way Day sale. —Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025

Just in time for holiday shopping, Wayfair brought back its biggest sales event for three days only. —Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 26 Oct. 2025

Retail sales are allowed in most commercial zoning districts with a special use permit, Hinzman said. —Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 26 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English sala; akin to Old High German sala transfer, Old English sellan to sell — more at sell

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing sale

• bake sale
• bill of sale
• bring-and-buy sale
• car boot sale
• clearance sale
• fire sale
• garage sale
• jumble sale
• make a sale
• on sale or return
• pre-sale
• public sale
• rummage sale
• sidewalk sale
• tag sale
• up for sale
• white sale
• yard sale

Rhymes for sale

• ail
• ale
• bail
• baile
• dail
• fail
• flail
• frail
• gael
• gail
• grail
• hail

Kids Definition

sale

noun

ˈsā(ə)l 

1

: the act of selling

especially : the exchange of property for a price

2

: auction entry 1

3

: a selling of goods at lower than usual prices

4

plural

a

: the business of selling

b

: total amounts of money received

Legal Definition

sale

noun

1

a

: the transfer of title to property from one party to another for a price

also : the contract of such a transaction see also short entry 1 sense 3 compare barter, donation, exchange, gift

— absolute sale

: a sale that takes place without conditions and with title simply passing to the buyer upon payment of the price compare conditional sale in this entry

— bulk sale

: a sale not in the ordinary course of the seller's business of more than half of the seller's inventory

called also bulk transfer

Note: Article 6 of the Uniform Commercial Code governs bulk sales. Under section 6-102(c), in order for a sale to be considered a bulk sale, the buyer (or an auctioneer or liquidator if the sale is an auction) must have been given notice or been able upon reasonable inquiry to have had notice that the seller will not afterward continue to operate the same or a similar kind of business.

— cash sale

: a sale in which payment must be made in cash

Note: Under U.C.C. section 2-310, payment must be made in cash at the time and place that the buyer receives the goods unless there is a prior agreement between the parties for a sale on credit.

— conditional sale

: a sale that is complete only when one or more conditions are met

specifically : a sale in which the seller extends credit to the buyer to purchase the item and takes a security interest in the item with the buyer receiving title when the debt has been fully paid off compare absolute sale in this entry

— execution sale

: a sale carried out to execute a judgment under authority of a judicial officer (as a court clerk) but not by court order

— forced sale

: a sale of property ordered by a court in order to satisfy a creditor's judgment against a debtor

— foreclosure sale

: a sale of property upon default of a mortgage to satisfy the debt

— judicial sale

: a sale of property conducted by an authorized official by order of a court : forced sale in this entry

— private sale

: an often unadvertised sale of property that is not open to the general public and does not take place at a set time or place

— public sale

: a sale (as an auction) that is publicly advertised and that takes place at a location open to the public

— sale in gross

: a sale of a tract of land that is not made with a guarantee as to the exact amount of land involved

also : the sale of an undivided property (as in execution of a judgment)

— sale on approval

: a conditional sale whose completion depends on acceptance of the goods by a buyer (as a consumer) receiving them primarily for use with the option to return them if they do not meet his or her approval even though they conform to contract

— sale or return

: a conditional sale whose completion depends on acceptance of the goods by a buyer (as a merchant) receiving them primarily for resale with the option to return them if they are not resold even though they conform to contract

— sheriff's sale

: a forced sale of property by a sheriff or deputy sheriff

— short sale

: a sale of securities or commodities that the seller does not possess or has not contracted for at the time of the sale

Note: The purpose of a short sale is to profit from an anticipated drop in the price of a security or commodity. Typically, an investor directs a broker to borrow a quantity of stocks and to sell them at the current price. If the price drops, the investor then repurchases an equal quantity at the lower price, returns the borrowed stocks, and retains the difference in price as profit. If the price rises instead of falling, the investor may choose or be compelled to repurchase the stocks at a higher price and to accept a loss.

: the sale of a mortgaged property in which the property owner receives for the sale less than the amount owing on the mortgage loan and the lender agrees to accept the amount received as payment in full of the mortgage loan

Note: Short sales are sometimes used as an alternative to foreclosure.

— tax sale

: a forced sale of property resulting from nonpayment of taxes by the owner compare tax lien at lien

b

: a contract for selling or disposing of a security or an interest in a security for value see also short entry 1 sense 2b, wash sale

2

: the transfer of a controlled substance to another person for money or other consideration

3

: a selling of goods at lower than usual prices

4

plural

a

: operations and activities involved in promoting and selling goods and services

vice-president of sales

b

: gross receipts

c

: income calculated under the accrual basis of accounting

Geographical Definition

Salé

geographical name

Sa·​lé sa-ˈlā 

variants or chiefly formerly Sallee

ˈsa-lē 

or Arabic Sla

ˈslä 

city and port at the mouth of a river in northwestern Morocco; a northern suburb of Rabat area population 849,000