Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🛒 To sell early 🛒 A pre-order sale 📢 Promotional action
to presell

to presell

1 4.8
To sell a product before it is available for delivery
  • verb
  • /ˌpriːˈsɛl/
: pre-vender
  • Many fans were excited to presell concert tickets for their favorite band before they officially went on sale.

Examples

  • >> THE IDEA IS TO PRESELL OFF THE MODEL, AS MANY AS I CAN, THEN BORROW FROM THE BANK TO BUILD.

    Lymelife (2008)

  • Preselling is copy that's not actively promoting anything because it is coded in a neutral tone and type.

    Blog text (14)

  • The company decided to presell the new game on its website to build excitement ahead of the release.

  • By choosing to presell the upcoming smartphone, the brand was able to gauge interest and secure funds for production.

How Promotional

to promote
396 3.5
to presell
1 4.8
to tease
  • NSFW
34 3.5
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

presell infinitive
preselling present participle
presells third person singular
presold past
presold past participle

Morphology

presell = sell (transparent) = pre + sell

This is ordinary prefixation with 'pre-' meaning 'before', producing the clear sense 'sell beforehand'.

Etymology

Presell splits into pre- 'before' and sell, so as a verb it simply means to sell something 'before' it is available. That's why companies often presell items to test demand or to fund production early.