Meaning & use
outselling
Last updated
“outselling” is a form of “outsell”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitive
Selling more than another product or a competitor in the same market.
Grammar: Takes an object: the new model is outselling the old one.
Patterns
- outselling something
- outselling someone by something
The new phone is outselling last year's model by two to one.
Her bakery is outselling the supermarket chain in town.
Paperbacks are outselling hardcovers in the fiction category.
Word forms
| base form | outsell |
|---|---|
| third person singular | outsells |
| past tense | outsold |
| past participle | outsold |
Common combinations
- outselling its rivals
- The brand is outselling its rivals in every region.
- outselling expectations
- The toy is outselling all expectations this holiday season.
- easily outselling
- Electric bikes are easily outselling traditional ones.
- outselling by a wide margin
- They are outselling the competition by a wide margin.
Synonyms and how they differ
- outperforming
- Outperforming is broader and can refer to any measure of results, while outselling is only about sales figures.
- beating
- Beating is informal and general, and does not specify that sales are the measure.
- surpassing
- Surpassing is more formal and suggests going past a target or record, not just a competitor.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: outselling or overselling?
outselling vs overselling
Overselling means exaggerating a product's qualities or selling more than you can supply, not selling more than a competitor.
Practice
The cheaper model is ___ the premium one three to one in our store.
Choose one answer.
Outselling means selling more than a competitor. Overselling is about exaggerating or selling more than stock, and underselling is selling for less.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “outselling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.