: 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
Recent Examples on the Web
Jeff Kilburg, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2026
Little was done, for example, to a roster that underperformed in the first half of the season and limped to the finish line after a trade deadline sell-off.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 11 Feb. 2026
Pia Singh, CNBC, 14 Feb. 2026
As increasingly capable chatbots roll out, shares with exposure to wealth managers, insurance brokerages, tax preparation, accounting services, professional data, legal research, trucking, and logistics have sold off hard.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sell-off
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Noun
The sell-off in the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) has been arguably one of the most severe in the software sector’s history outside of major recessions or crashes like 2008 and 2022.
—Jeff Kilburg, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2026
Little was done, for example, to a roster that underperformed in the first half of the season and limped to the finish line after a trade deadline sell-off.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 11 Feb. 2026
Verb
Although both names sold off this week, Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall said Thursday in a note to clients that the move lower in media stocks could be overdone.
—Pia Singh, CNBC, 14 Feb. 2026
As increasingly capable chatbots roll out, shares with exposure to wealth managers, insurance brokerages, tax preparation, accounting services, professional data, legal research, trucking, and logistics have sold off hard.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
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 17 Feb. 2026.
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