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

The Fenway faithful don’t like sell-offs and the guessing now is the Sawx hold onto Gray and Chapman and hope to get Crochet and Anthony back by mid-August to make a run at the Yankees. — Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026

Take our survey The chips are still down Asian chip stocks are tracking Wall Street’s AI sell-off lower, with the declines concentrated in Japan. — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 17 July 2026

Verb

Global chip peers were sold off on Friday as a surprise breakthrough from a Chinese AI startup renewed doubts over massive capex investment. — Winnie Hsu, Fortune, 19 July 2026

Indeed, some analysts previously told ABC News the current selloff owes primarily to a phenomenon called profit-taking, when traders sell off some of their shares to lock in returns after a prolonged run-up in price. — Max Zahn, ABC News, 17 July 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