Meaning & use
estate sale
Last updated
UK/ɪˈsteɪt seɪl/
US/ɪˈsteɪt seɪl/
Meaning
nouncountable
A sale of most of the household belongings of someone who has died or is moving, usually held at the home.
Grammar: Countable: an estate sale, many estate sales.
Patterns
- go to an estate sale
We found a beautiful lamp at the estate sale.
The estate sale starts at nine on Saturday.
They held an estate sale before selling the house.
Word forms
| plural | estate sales |
|---|
Common combinations
- hold an estate sale
- The family decided to hold an estate sale.
- go to an estate sale
- We love to go to an estate sale on weekends.
- an estate sale at the house
- There is an estate sale at the house next door.
- estate sale prices
- Estate sale prices are often low.
- estate sale find
- The chair was an estate sale find.
Synonyms and how they differ
- yard sale
- A yard sale is smaller and held by a living family clearing out items, while an estate sale usually sells most of a home's contents.
- garage sale
- Garage sale is similar to yard sale and is less formal than an estate sale.
- auction
- An auction sells to the highest bidder, while estate sales have fixed prices.
Word family
Commonly confused: estate sale or real estate?
estate sale vs real estate
Real estate means land and buildings. An estate sale sells household items.
Practice
What is usually sold at an estate sale?
Choose one answer.
Estate sales sell household goods. The other options are different kinds of sale.
Make it your own
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