Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1000-1100
Language: Old Norse
Origin: sala

sale

 noun
     
Related topics: Trade
sale S2 W1
1 [uncountable and countable]BBT when you sell something
sale of
The use and sale of marijuana remains illegal.
Harvey gets a $50 commission every time he makes a sale (=sells something as part of his job).
Car salesmen will often bring down the price rather than lose a sale (=fail to sell something).
arms sales to Iran
2

sales

a) [plural]BBT the total number of products that are sold during a particular period of time:
Britain's retail sales (=all the things sold to the public in shops) jumped 3.2 percent in April.
sales of
Sales of automobiles are up this year.
We did not reach our summer sales targets.
The company no longer releases its sales figures (=how much money it makes or loses from sales).
in sales
We grossed more than $500,000 in sales last year.
b) [uncountable]BBC the part of a company that deals with selling products:
She found a job in sales.
a sales manager
a worldwide sales force of 1,100
3

for sale

BBT available to be bought:
Excuse me, are these for sale?
There was a 'for sale' sign in the yard.
Reluctantly, they put the family home up for sale (=made it available to be bought).
4

on sale

a) BBT available to be bought in a shop:
A wide range of postcards and other souvenirs are on sale in the visitors' centre.
Stephen King's new novel will go on sale (=will begin to be sold) next week.
b) especially American English available to be bought at a lower price than usual:
These gloves were on sale for only $9.
5 [countable]BBT a period of time when shops sell their goods at lower prices than usual:
Marsdon's department store is having a sale this week.
the sales British English (=when all the shops have a sale)
I picked up some real bargains in the January sales this year.
6 [countable]BBT an event at which things are sold to the person who offers the highest price [= auction]:
a sale of 17th century paintings
7

sales drive/campaign

BBT when a company makes a special effort to try to increase the amount of its products that it sells:
a new sales campaign
8

sales pitch/talk

the things that someone says when they are trying to persuade you to buy something
9

(on) sale or return

British EnglishBBT if a shop buys something on sale or return, it can return the goods that it is unable to sell
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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