Meaning & use
a fire sale
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A sale of goods at very low prices, often because the seller needs money quickly or must close a business.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a fire sale or fire sales. The article an is often included when speaking generally.
Patterns
- a fire sale of something
- hold a fire sale
- at a fire sale
The store is having a fire sale this weekend, with everything at half price.
After the company went bankrupt, its stock was sold in a fire sale.
Shoppers rushed to the fire sale to find cheap electronics.
nouncountablebusinessfinance
A situation in which a company sells assets or shares very cheaply because it is in financial trouble.
Grammar: Often used in business and finance contexts: a fire sale of assets, a fire sale price.
Patterns
- fire sale of assets
- fire sale prices
- a fire sale on something
The bank was forced into a fire sale of its properties to avoid collapse.
Investors worried that the struggling airline would become a fire sale.
The firm bought the rival company at fire sale prices during the recession.
Word forms
| plural | fire sales |
|---|
Common combinations
- fire sale prices
- The house was sold at fire sale prices after the owner lost his job.
- hold a fire sale
- The shop decided to hold a fire sale to clear out old stock.
- fire sale of assets
- The company announced a fire sale of assets to pay off its debts.
- buy something at a fire sale
- He bought the painting at a fire sale and later sold it for a fortune.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clearance sale
- A clearance sale is similar but usually planned to make room for new stock, not forced by financial trouble.
- liquidation
- Liquidation is the formal business term for selling everything to pay debts; it is more technical than fire sale.
- bargain
- A bargain is simply a cheap buy; a fire sale is the event where such bargains are found.
Word family
- fire-sale adjective
- Used before a noun to mean very cheap: fire-sale prices.
Commonly confused: a fire sale or fire sale?
a fire sale vs fire sale
Sometimes confused with 'fire sale' as a literal sale of fire-damaged goods, but the main meaning is a cheap sale due to urgent need.
Practice
The company had to sell its buildings at a ______ to avoid bankruptcy.
Choose one answer.
A fire sale is a sale of assets at very low prices due to financial trouble. 'Fire station', 'fire alarm', and 'fire escape' are unrelated emergency terms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a fire sale”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.