rummage sale
6
2.3
- noun
- /ˈrʌmɪdʒ seɪl/
- US
:
venta de garaje
- The school organized a big rummage sale to raise funds for new playground equipment.
- garage and rummage sale
- church rummage sale
- rummage sale this weekend
But one of his favorite ones is to go to a swap meet or a rummage sale or whatever at any place where people are milling around looking shopping, right?
- But one of his favorite ones is to go to a swap meet or a rummage sale or whatever at any place where people are milling around looking shopping, right?
Examples
-
My fabric is almost exactly like your stripey fabric—something I picked up at a rummage sale for a quarter.
Blog text (12) -
You've been having a rummage sale?
-
I got it at a rummage sale.
-
Oh, for the rummage sale!
-
Begin by meeting him in a class, a bar, or at a rummage sale.
Academic text (1994) -
I wanted to remind you about the charity rummage sale this weekend.
-
The tiny post office was having a rummage sale on its porch.
Fiction book (1999) -
I picked up this old box at a rummage sale on my way to Junk Bonanza.
Blog text (6) -
Fundraisers like plant sales, rummage sales, and golf tournaments add to the till.
Blog text (1) -
I'm just clearing out some of the stuff that's piled up for the rummage sale.
Synonyms
476
1.0
A time when shops offer goods at lower prices
40
1.2
An event at someone's home to sell used household items
37
2.3
An outdoor market where people sell used things like clothes or furniture
37
1.7
An event where people sell cakes or cookies to raise money for a cause
33
1.6
A sale outside a home where people sell used things
14
4.1
An event where people sell goods to raise money for charity
A sale where people buy used or donated things to raise money for charity
An outdoor market where people sell things from the back of their cars
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'rummage' (assorted secondhand/donated items) combined with 'sale' yields a sale of those items. This literal noun–noun compound is a common, cross-linguistically transparent concept (charity/garage/yard sales), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase rummage sale comes from the verb rummage, which means 'to search through things'. At these sales people look through boxes of donated, used items to find bargains, so the name now means 'a sale of used goods to raise money'.