Skip to main content
selloff

selloff

4 6.3
A sudden fall in stock or bond prices when many people try to get rid of them
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛlˌɔf/
  • Specialized
translation icon : liquidación
  • Investors reacted quickly, leading to a significant selloff of shares in the tech sector.
  • stock selloff
  • market selloff
  • the recent selloff

Examples

  • Friday's dismal jobs report triggered a selloff, and the stock market has now erased all its gains for the year.

    Blog text (32)
  • High-yield bond markets in Europe did experience an immediate selloff, pushing yields within a week of the Danish vote.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Fourth, the selloff was combined with the decline in long bond prices.

    Blog text (6)
  • The instant the Fed changes stance, they risk starting the selloff that will destroy the US dollar.

    Blog text (8)
  • I asked about the 1090 gap in gold a few days back, as the broad selloff should affect gold as it has in the past.

    Blog text (21)
  • Of that amount, some $53 billion has come out since last October, the bottom of a two-month selloff sparked by a crisis in Europe and the loss of the United States' top credit rating.

    Blog text (21)
  • Her comments sparked a monthlong muni selloff, with investors yanking $4 billion out of the market through mid-January.

    Blog text (6)
  • In a secular bear market, stocks tend to move sideways for years, interrupted by sharp rallies and sharp selloffs.

    Blog text (10)
  • Macroeconomists around the world had long warned of global imbalances stemming from U.S. trade and budget deficits and China's accumulation of U.S. debt, which they feared could trigger a global dollar selloff.

    Academic text (2018)
  • The sudden selloff in the stock market caused panic among investors trying to minimize their losses.

Synonyms

fire sale
vsselloff
9 4.2

People sell goods at very low prices because they must sell quickly

is sold quickly but not necessarily because of an emergency
clearance sale
vsselloff
4 2.1

A sale when a shop sells many items at low prices to make room for new stock

happens quickly to offload assets, not only for seasonal stock turnover
closeout
vsselloff
  • US
3 4.8

A sale with much lower prices to sell remaining goods when a shop closes

focuses on selling large asset quantities quickly, often in financial markets rather than stores
divestiture
vsselloff
  • Specialized
3 8.9

The sale of parts of a company, like a smaller company it owns

is a rapid disposal at low prices rather than a planned corporate restructuring
divestment
vsselloff
  • Literature
3 6.0

Selling investments or parts of a company to stop owning them

is driven by quick disposal at low prices rather than chosen ethical motives
2 3.5

A sale where a shop sells everything at low prices because it is closing

is used for quick disposal even when the seller is not closing permanently
liquidation sale
vsselloff
1 3.7

A sale of most goods at low prices when a business closes down

focuses on selling a large amount quickly rather than clearing everything
3.3

A shop event to sell old or extra items at low prices

aims to remove large quantities quickly for reasons beyond just clearing surplus

Antonyms

buyback
  • Specialized
13 5.9

An agreement where someone buys back something they sold before, often a company buying its own shares

How Large

liquidation
  • Specialized
15 7.3
selloff
  • Specialized
4 6.3
sale
1.0

Surface Forms

selloff singular
selloffs plural

Morphology

selloff = sell + off (transparent) = sell + off

The noun is directly formed from the phrasal verb 'sell off' (sell + off) and preserves the sense of disposing items quickly, often at low prices.

Etymology

The word selloff combines sell and off. Off here means 'away' or 'clear-out', so a selloff is like a big clear-out where many items or stocks are sold quickly, often at low prices.