SELL SHORT
Dictionary entry overview: What does sell short mean?
• SELL SHORT (verb)
The verb SELL SHORT has 2 senses:
1. sell securities or commodities or foreign currency that is not actually owned by the seller, who hopes to cover (buy back) the sold items at a lower price and thus to earn a profit
2. underestimate the real value or ability of
Familiarity information: SELL SHORT used as a verb is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• SELL SHORT (verb)
Meaning:
Sell securities or commodities or foreign currency that is not actually owned by the seller, who hopes to cover (buy back) the sold items at a lower price and thus to earn a profit
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "sell short" is one way to...):
sell (exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent)
Domain category:
commerce; commercialism; mercantilism (transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services))
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Underestimate the real value or ability of
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Context example:
Don't sell your students short--they are just shy and don't show off their knowledge
Hypernyms (to "sell short" is one way to...):
underestimate; underrate (make too low an estimate of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
