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sale (sāl)
Share:
n.
1.
a. The exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or its equivalent; the act of selling: The sale of such a nice house should be easy.
b. A selling of property to the highest bidder; an auction.
2. An offer or arrangement in which goods are sold at a discount: The store has a sale on winter coats.
3. sales
a. The business or activity of selling goods or services: She works in sales.
b. The number of items sold or the amount of money received for a number of items sold: Sales are better than expected.
Idioms:
for sale
Available to customers: a store where pets are for sale.
on sale
1. Available to customers: That vegetable should be on sale at your local grocery.
2. Available to customers at a special discount: Bathing suits are on sale.

[Middle English, from Old English sala, from Old Norse.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.