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sales

/seɪlz/
noun★Intermediate— exchange of goods for money
💼Business
formal

The total amount of money received from selling goods or services.

The store's sales exceeded $1 million last month.

The store earned more than $1 million from selling products last month.

Sales figures for Q2 show a 15% increase.

The data about money earned from selling products in the second quarter shows a 15% growth.

💡

Often used in business contexts to refer to revenue from transactions.

💼Business
formal

The act or process of selling something.

She works in sales at a tech company.

She is employed to sell products for a technology company.

The sales team closed three major deals this week.

The group responsible for selling products finalized three significant transactions this week.

💡

Refers to the department or activity of selling products or services.

Collocations

sales figuresdata showing revenue from salessales teamgroup responsible for selling productssales targetgoal for revenue to be earned from salesonline salesrevenue from internet-based transactionsretail salesrevenue from selling directly to consumers

Synonyms

revenueturnoverincometransactions

Antonyms

lossesexpensescosts

💡Pro Tip

Distinguish 'sales' from 'sale'

Use 'sales' (plural) to refer to total revenue or the department responsible for selling (e.g., 'Sales increased by 20%'). Use 'sale' (singular) to refer to a single transaction or a discounted pricing event (e.g., 'The store is having a summer sale').

⚡Gold Rule

Plural form usage

The word 'sales' is always plural in form, even when referring to a single event or concept (e.g., 'The company's sales were strong this year').

Context matters

In business contexts, 'sales' often refers to revenue data, while 'sale' refers to individual transactions or promotional events.

📖Word Origin

From Middle English 'sales', plural of 'sale', from Old English 'salu' (payment, debt), related to Old Norse 'sala' (sale), from Proto-Germanic '*salō' (sale, agreement). Cognate with Dutch 'zaal' (hall) and German 'Saal' (hall), though the financial sense is distinct.

📝Usage Notes

'Sales' is always plural in form but can refer to singular or plural contexts. It is commonly used in business contexts to describe revenue or the activity of selling. Avoid using 'sale' (singular) when referring to total revenue; 'sale' typically refers to a single transaction or discounted pricing event.

Word Breakdown

sale
the act of selling
root
+
-s
plural marker
suffix
English Dictionary

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