sold to

Meanings

1. 1phrasephrasal verb

   was given to a buyer in exchange for money; the past tense and past participle of 'sell to'

   Grammar: Used after a form of 'be' (was, were, is, are) and followed by the buyer: The car was sold to a local family.

   Patterns

   • be sold to someone
   • be sold to a company
   • sold to the highest bidder

   The house was sold to a young couple from the city.

   All the tickets were sold to members before the public sale began.

   The painting was sold to a private collector for a record price.

2. 2phrasephrasal verbinformal

   persuaded someone to accept an idea, plan, or product

   Grammar: Often used with 'be' or 'have': I was sold to the idea after seeing the numbers. This use is more informal.

   Patterns

   • be sold to an idea
   • be sold to a plan

   The team was finally sold to the new strategy after the pilot test.

   She was sold to the idea of moving abroad once she visited the city.

Common combinations

sold to the highest bidder

The old factory was sold to the highest bidder at auction.

sold to a private buyer

The land was sold to a private buyer, not to a developer.

sold to the public

The first cars were sold to the public in the early 1900s.

sold to a company

The startup was sold to a large company last year.

Synonyms and how they differ

bought by

This reverses the focus: the buyer is the subject, as in The house was bought by a young couple.

purchased by

More formal than 'sold to' and also puts the buyer first: The painting was purchased by a collector.

Word family

sell verb

The base verb meaning to give something in exchange for money.

sale noun

The act of selling something or an event where things are sold.

seller noun

A person or company that sells something.

Commonly confused: sold to or sold out?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sold to”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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