How to pronounce sell
Say it like SEL. Sell is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce sell. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SEL
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Sell pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SELSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "e" in bed.
American vs British pronunciation of sell
American and British speakers say sell in essentially the same way: /sɛl/ in the US and /sɛl/ in the UK.
British respelling: SEL.
What does sell mean?
- exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent“He sold his house in January”“She sells her body to survive and support her drug habit”
- be sold at a certain price or in a certain way“These books sell like hot cakes”
- persuade somebody to accept something“The French try to sell us their image as great lovers”
- the activity of persuading someone to buy“it was a hard sell”
Where does sell come from?
Cognate with Scots sell (“to sell”), Danish sælge (“to sell”), Norwegian Bokmål selge (“to sell”), Norwegian Nynorsk selja, selje (“to sell”), Swedish sälja (“to sell”), Faroese and Icelandic selja (“to sell”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (saljan, “to pa
Similar and opposite words
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with sell
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of sell.
Words that sound like sell
Questions about saying sell
How do you pronounce sell?
Say SEL. The American pronunciation is /sɛl/. In British English it is /sɛl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in sell?
Sell is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SEL.
Do Americans and Brits say sell the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /sɛl/ and the British form is /sɛl/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.
What words sound the same as sell?
Sell sounds the same as cell in American English. The spelling and meaning are what tell them apart.