: a usually sudden sharp decline in security prices accompanied by increased volume of trading
sold off; selling off; sells off
: to suffer a drop in prices
Examples of sell-off in a Sentence
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Scott Horsley, NPR, 9 July 2025
The sluggish trading came as the market was coming off a broad sell-off following the Trump administration’s decision to impose new import tariffs set to go into effect next month on more than a dozen nations.
—Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
Jim Edwards, Fortune, 11 July 2025
Then of course, all attention turned to tariffs, the market sold off, and these companies fell with it.
—Frank Holland, CNBC, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sell-off
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Noun
The news prompted a sharp sell-off in the stock market, and Trump quickly backtracked — announcing a 90-day pause on those higher tariffs to allow time for trade negotiations.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 9 July 2025
The sluggish trading came as the market was coming off a broad sell-off following the Trump administration’s decision to impose new import tariffs set to go into effect next month on more than a dozen nations.
—Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
Verb
Around the world, markets in Asia sold off today but mostly at levels of less than 1%.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 11 July 2025
Then of course, all attention turned to tariffs, the market sold off, and these companies fell with it.
—Frank Holland, CNBC, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sell-off
Cite this Entry
“Sell-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sell-off. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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