1 B2 neutral
To buy something and then sell it to a third party, often at a profit.
"He bought vintage furniture at auctions and sold it on to interior designers for twice the price."
separable
sell on
B2 neutral separable transitive
To buy something and then sell it to someone else, often at a higher price; or to convince someone of something.
In plain English
To buy something and then sell it again to another person, usually to make money; or to persuade someone to believe in or buy something.
What does "sell on" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic informal
To convince or persuade someone to accept an idea, product, or proposal.
"Before we approach investors, we need to make sure the board is fully sold on the concept."
separable
Usage tip
In commerce, 'sell on' describes the practice of buying goods and reselling them to another buyer — sometimes at a profit. In the persuasion sense, it means to convince someone of a concept or product.
Words that pair with "sell on"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
goods tickets data idea concept leads
How to conjugate "sell on"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
sell on
I/you/we/they
3rd person
sells on
he/she/it
Past simple
sold on
yesterday
Past participle
sold on
have + pp
-ing form
selling on
continuous
Hear "sell on" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "sell on" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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