Meaning & use
sell myself short
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Meaning
phraseidiom
to underestimate your own abilities or value, especially by accepting less than you deserve
Grammar: The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject: I sell myself short, you sell yourself short, she sells herself short.
Patterns
- sell myself short
- sell yourself short
- sell himself/herself short
Don't sell yourself short—you're more than qualified for that job.
She sold herself short in the interview by not mentioning her leadership experience.
He tends to sell himself short when negotiating his salary.
Common combinations
- tend to sell yourself short
- Many talented people tend to sell themselves short when applying for promotions.
- sell yourself short in an interview
- If you sell yourself short in an interview, the employer may not see your true potential.
- don't sell yourself short
- Don't sell yourself short; you have a lot to offer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- underestimate yourself
- This is a more neutral, literal way to say the same thing; it lacks the idiomatic flavor of 'sell yourself short'.
- undervalue yourself
- Similar meaning, but often used about your worth in a financial or professional sense.
Opposites
Commonly confused: sell myself short or sell short?
sell myself short vs sell short
In finance, 'sell short' means to sell borrowed securities hoping to buy them back cheaper. 'Sell yourself short' is a different idiom about underestimating yourself.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'sell myself short' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses the idiom to mean underestimating one's own value. Option 1 confuses it with selling goods, option 2 with financial short selling, and option 3 with a simple purchase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sell myself short”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.