Meaning & use
seller
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person or business that sells something.
Grammar: The opposite of buyer: the seller names the price.
Patterns
- a seller of something
The seller agreed to lower the price of the car.
She is a seller of handmade candles online.
Check the seller's reviews before you order.
nouncountable
A product, judged by how well it sells.
Grammar: Used with an adjective such as good, poor or best.
Patterns
- a good seller
- a best seller
This toy is a steady seller every Christmas.
Her first book was a poor seller.
The scented soap is our top seller.
Word forms
| plural | sellers |
|---|
Common combinations
- best seller
- Her novel became a best seller.
- online seller
- The online seller shipped the parcel quickly.
- street seller
- A street seller offered fresh flowers.
- seller's market
- It is a seller's market, so prices are high.
- private seller
- I bought the bike from a private seller.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vendor
- Vendor is more formal and often means a business or stall holder.
- merchant
- Merchant suggests a trader dealing in goods on a larger scale.
- salesperson
- Salesperson means someone employed to sell, not necessarily the owner.
- retailer
- Retailer is a business that sells directly to the public.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: seller or cellar?
seller vs cellar
A cellar is an underground room; it sounds the same as a seller in many accents but is unrelated.
Practice
In a hot housing market, the ______ can often choose between several offers.
Choose one answer.
In a seller's market demand is high, so the seller has the advantage. A buyer faces competition, so that option fails.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “seller”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.