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Glite Dictionary
to sell your birthright

to sell your birthright

8.2
To give up something very important for little or no value
  • idiom
translation icon : vender tu herencia
  • She felt she had to sell her birthright when she traded her wedding ring for a few dollars.

Examples

  • As did Esau, you have sold your birthright for a porridge of lentils.

    Blog text (34)

  • In a moment of desperation, he decided to sell his birthright for a mere sandwich, regretting it immediately afterwards.

  • So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

    Blog text (1)

  • "So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

    Blog text (1)

  • Because Esau sold his birthright, Bonaventura condemns him to hell with those who sell eternal blessings.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Because he sold his birthright for a dish of red pottage, he and his people were called Edom, meaning red (Gen. 25:30).

    Academic text (2006)

  • Because Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge, he relinquished the right to these priestly clothes, which Rebecca, the Church, then gives to Jacob.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Hebrews 12:16 says, "... lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright."

    Blog text (1)

  • Without realizing its importance, he chose to sell his birthright for a fleeting pleasure that left him empty.

Synonyms

to sell
vsto sell your birthright
  • Informal
642 7.9

To betray someone for personal gain

gives up something vital for a trivial immediate benefit rather than gain
to give up
vsto sell your birthright
363 2.3

To hand a job or control you have to someone else

gives up something fundamental for little worth rather than a simple handover
to relinquish
vsto sell your birthright
  • Formal
69 7.2

To give up control, a right, or something you own

gives up something fundamental for a small unworthy return rather than by choice
to resign
vsto sell your birthright
  • Formal
22 3.7

Give up a right or title to something

gives up something very valuable for a trivial gain rather than formal surrender
to barter away
vsto sell your birthright
1 5.8

To give up something valuable in exchange for something else, often as a loss

gives up a very valuable thing for a trivial gain instead of fair exchange
to sell your birthright for a mess of pottage
vsto sell your birthright
9.9

To give up something very important for a small, quick gain

has the same meaning but uses a more explicit traditional phrase

Antonyms

to preserve
496 3.4

To keep people and things safe from harm or change

to hold onto
180 3.0

To keep something and not let it go

How Unwise

to sell your birthright
8.2
to throw away
477 1.8
to give away
233 2.0

Surface Forms

sell your birthright infinitive
sold your birthright past
sold your birthright past participle
selling your birthright present participle
sells your birthright third person singular

Morphology

sell + your + birthright

A learner who knows 'sell' and 'birthright' can plausibly infer the literal sense of giving up an inherited right for something else, so the core idea is compositional. However, the idiomatic shading (giving up something fundamentally valuable for something trivial, often via a cultural/biblical reference) is metaphorical and may not be fully predictable for a B1 learner, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The phrase sell your birthright comes from a well-known Bible story: Esau sold his birthright, the special right of the firstborn, to his brother Jacob for a simple meal when he was very hungry. That image of trading a very important right for something small is why the phrase means 'to give up something very valuable for something of little worth'.