- sale
- noun1 act of selling sth; occasion when things are soldADJECTIVE▪ quick▪
The price is low to ensure a quick sale.
▪ illegal▪the illegal sale of alcohol
▪ art▪ bond, share, stock▪ auction, bake (AmE), bring-and-buy (BrE), car boot (BrE), estate (AmE), garage, jumble (BrE), rummage (esp. AmE), tabletop (BrE), tag (AmE), yard (AmE)VERB + SALE▪ hold▪ ban, block, halt, prevent, prohibit, restrict, stop▪ approve▪ close, complete, make▪If we don't close this sale, we're out of business.
▪ lose▪ announceSALE + VERB▪ make sth, realize sth▪The bake sale made $358 for cancer research.
▪ go ahead, go through, proceed▪ fall through▪The sale of the house fell through when the buyer pulled out.
SALE + NOUN▪ pricePREPOSITION▪ for sale▪I see their house is for sale.
▪ on sale▪The new stamps are now on sale at post offices.
PHRASES▪ conditions of sale▪The conditions of sale were posted up around the auction room.
▪ a contract of sale▪ point of sale▪promotional posters shown at the point of sale
▪ the proceeds from a sale, the profits from a sale▪All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to charity.
▪ (on) sale or return (BrE)▪The novels are delivered to outlets on a sale or return basis.
▪ up for sale▪The land has come up for sale again.
2 sales activity of selling things; amount soldADJECTIVE▪ good, healthy, high, huge, massive, record, strong▪ increased▪ disappointing, poor▪ annual, quarterly▪ first-quarter, second-quarter, etc.▪ high-street (BrE), over-the-counter, retail▪High-street sales have fallen for the fifth consecutive month.
▪ direct, telephone▪Direct sales, by mail order, were up by 15%.
▪ Internet, online▪ domestic▪ local▪ export, foreign, international, overseas▪ global, overall, total, world, worldwide▪ gross, net▪ unit, volume▪ CD, DVD, PC, ticket, etc.▪ home, house, land, property, real estate (AmE)▪ auto (AmE), car, vehicle▪ arms… OF SALES▪ level, value, volume▪The high volume of sales makes the low pricing policy profitable.
VERB + SALES▪ achieve, have▪ generate, rack up (esp. AmE)▪The advertising campaign generated massive sales.
▪ boost, drive, drive up, expand, increase, push, push up, spur▪Low interest rates pushed sales to a record in 2006.
▪ hurt▪Lower consumer confidence could hurt PC sales.
▪ double, triple, etc.▪ expect, project▪ report▪The company reported strong sales for May.
SALES + VERB▪ account for sth▪North American sales account for 40% of the worldwide market.
▪ amount to sth, reach sth, total sth▪sales amounting to over £4 million
▪Sales failed to reach 10 000 units.
▪ exceed sth▪ be up, climb, go up, grow, improve, increase, jump, rise, rocket, skyrocket, soar, surge▪Sales of ice cream are up because of the hot weather.
▪ be down, decline, drop, fall, fall off, go down, slumpSALES + NOUN▪ force, people, personnel, staff, team▪ agent, department, office▪ director, manager, rep (informal), representative▪ assistant, clerk (AmE)▪ campaign, drive, effort, promotion▪ strategy, tactics, technique▪ patter (BrE), pitch, talk▪an aggressive sales pitch from the company rep
▪ estimates, projections▪ data, figures, levels, performance, revenue, targets, volume▪ growth▪ slump▪The factory was forced to shed jobs following a dramatic sales slump.
▪ conference▪ presentation▪ report▪ tax (esp. AmE)▪It sells for $50 plus sales tax and shipping.
▪ receipt, slip (both AmE)PREPOSITION▪ sales of▪Sales of VCRs have plummeted.
▪ in sales▪I work in sales (= in the sales department).
PHRASES▪ a decline in sales, a drop in sales, a fall in sales, a slowdown in sales, a slump in sales▪ an increase in sales, a jump in sales, a rise in sales, a surge in sales, an upturn in sales▪ growth in sales▪ sales and marketing3 period of reduced pricesADJECTIVE▪ after-Christmas (AmE), annual, January (BrE), summer, winter▪ clothing, furniture, etc.▪ clearance, closing-down (BrE), fire, going-out-of-business (AmE)VERB + SALE▪ holdSALE + VERB▪ begin, endSALE + NOUN▪ rack (AmE)▪ pricesPREPOSITION▪ in a/the sale▪I got these shoes in the Bloomingdales sale.
▪ at the sales, in the sales (both BrE)▪I bought it at the winter sales.
▪ on sale (AmE)▪All video equipment is on sale today and tomorrow.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
