oversold

adjective over·sold \ ˌō-vər-ˈsōld \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Definition of oversold

: likely to show a rise in price because of prior heavy selling and accompanying decline in price

an oversold stock

Recent Examples of oversold from the Web

Bridges isn’t perfect—creating his own shot off the dribble is a weakness, and some around the league feel the actual caliber of his man-to-man defense may be oversold.

— jeremy woo, SI.com, "2018 NBA Mock Draft 8.0: What Happens if the Kings Pass on Luka Doncic?," 5 June 2018
That reflects a recognition that dams are expensive, environmentally disastrous and offer benefits that are frequently oversold and fade away over time.

— michael hiltzik, latimes.com, "This zombie dam project underscores California's dilemma over water," 16 May 2018
Federal authorities alleged that Cephalon sales reps had illegally oversold general practitioners on the benefits of the drugs and failed to warn them of the drugs's risks.

— bill myers, Chicago Reader, "Officials hope much-hyped drug can slow state's opioid crisis, but is it worth the costs?," 16 May 2018
Much like Netanyahu’s previous dire warnings about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, however, this one is being hugely oversold.

— jonah shepp, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Buys Netanyahu’s Bad Case for Abandoning the Iran Deal," 1 May 2018
But this booming area of cancer treatment has critics, who say its promise has been oversold.

— jocelyn kaiser, Science | AAAS, "A cancer drug tailored to your tumor? Experts trade barbs over ‘precision oncology’," 24 Apr. 2018
The Ritz Ybor has cleaned up for the event, which is oversold and absolutely slam-packed.

— jacqueline detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "Where U.S. Special Forces Buy Their Weapons," 23 Apr. 2018
The article said Live Nation had a Relative Strength Index reading of 29.7, falling just below the benchmark 30, with anything under that considered oversold.

— dave brooks, Billboard, "Live Nation Stock Dips 13 Percent After Two Days of Selloffs," 3 Apr. 2018
Following the ugly case of David Dao, the Kentucky doctor who was dragged from an overbooked United Airlines flight, the U.S. airline industry vowed to fix the problem of oversold planes.

— hugo martin, latimes.com, "Airlines invest in tech startup to prevent booting passengers from overbooked flights," 10 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'oversold.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of oversold

circa 1890

in the meaning defined above

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