sell-off

1 of 2

noun

ˈsel-ˌȯf 

: a usually sudden sharp decline in security prices accompanied by increased volume of trading

sell off

2 of 2

verb

sold off; selling off; sells off

intransitive verb

: to suffer a drop in prices

Examples of sell-off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

China was also caught in the regional sell-off, with the tech-heavy STAR Market and the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence Index both tumbling more than 4%. — Lee Ying Shan,jenny Lee, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026

At the same time, the tech sell-off represents a rare opportunity where the sector is by far underperforming the S&P 500. — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2026

Verb

The biggest contributor to the Dow’s drop was Nvidia, which sold off by 7%, its largest one-day decline since April 2025. — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2026

Semiconductors – Traders backed away from chips as the tech sector sold off hard Thursday. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1976, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sell-off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff