oversell

verb

over·​sell ˌō-vər-ˈsel How to pronounce oversell (audio)
oversold ˌō-vər-ˈsōld How to pronounce oversell (audio) ; overselling

transitive verb

1
a
: to sell too much or too many to
b
: to sell too much or too many of
2
: to make excessive claims for
oversell
ˈō-vər-ˌsel How to pronounce oversell (audio)
noun

Examples of oversell in a Sentence

Hotels routinely oversell their rooms, expecting a small percentage of no-shows. Don't oversell yourself in the job interview. The salesman oversold the features on the new model.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When an airline announces their flight has been oversold, and asks if any passengers are willing to take a later flight, this is a perfect time to request both compensation and an upgrade. — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 30 Mar. 2025 The Forbes analysis of the latest data ending on Mar 25 suggests that smart money considered the price of Ethereum that day ($2,068) as being oversold, and boosted long positions for two of the past three weeks. — Javier Paz, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025 The back-and-forth stock market this week, with no help from a fairly neutral S & P Short Range Oscillator , yielded only one trade this week following the prior week’s buying spree when the market was oversold. — Kevin Stankiewicz,matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2025 The combination of the extremely low bullish sentiment, oversold starc- band analysis, and the bullish signals from the A/D analysis indicated that an important low was forming in February 2016. — Tom Aspray, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for oversell

Word History

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of oversell was in 1576

Rhymes for oversell

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Browse Nearby Words

overseership
oversell
oversensitive
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Cite this Entry

“Oversell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oversell. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

oversell

verb
over·​sell ˌō-vər-ˈsel How to pronounce oversell (audio)
oversold -ˈsōld How to pronounce oversell (audio) ; overselling
: to sell too much to or of
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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