noun

short selling

SHORT SEL-ing

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Short selling (noun) means the practice of selling shares or other assets that you have borrowed rather than own, with the intention of buying them back later and returning them; the seller gains if the price has fallen in between and loses if it has risen. Example: “The fund made its name through short selling of companies it believed were overvalued.”

noun

The practice of selling shares or other assets that you have borrowed rather than own, with the intention of buying them back later and returning them; the seller gains if the price has fallen in between and loses if it has risen.

"The fund made its name through short selling of companies it believed were overvalued."

"Regulators temporarily banned short selling of bank shares during the panic."

verb

To carry out such a sale. Used as short-sell, and commonly shortened to short.

"He short-sold the stock two weeks before the results came out."

How to use short selling

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishSelling something you have borrowed, so you make money only if its price goes down.

When to use it

Standard financial terminology. The verb short is informal in general speech but entirely normal inside the industry.

Memory tip

Short here has nothing to do with length or time; it simply means you are in deficit on that asset until you buy it back.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

going long short squeeze naked short selling put option

Common pairings

short-selling ban heavily shorted close a short position short interest

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C2 · Advanced serendipity Fortunate discoveries made entirely by accident.

Gen Z slang rizz Charm — the ability to attract a romantic interest.

B2 · Intermediate empathy The capacity to share another person’s feelings.

C1 · Advanced nonchalant Casually calm and relaxed; unconcerned.

Internet slang delulu Delusional — believing something against the odds.

Etymology nostalgia Greek nostos “return home” + algos “pain”.

C2 · Advanced serendipity Fortunate discoveries made entirely by accident.

Gen Z slang rizz Charm — the ability to attract a romantic interest.

B2 · Intermediate empathy The capacity to share another person’s feelings.

C1 · Advanced nonchalant Casually calm and relaxed; unconcerned.

Internet slang delulu Delusional — believing something against the odds.

Etymology nostalgia Greek nostos “return home” + algos “pain”.

Test yourself on “short selling” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

The fund made its name through _____ of companies it believed were overvalued.

Etymology

From the trading sense of short, meaning to owe something you do not currently hold, plus selling.

Origin: English

Synonyms

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shorting going short short sale short sell short

Antonyms

going long long investing go long

Related words

long little low short dead suddenly tall brief

Rhymes for short selling

telling welling selling yelling felling spelling dwelling swelling smelling shelling gruelling modelling

See all rhymes for short selling →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between short selling and going long?

Going long is the ordinary case: you buy something, own it, and gain if its price rises. Short selling reverses the order, because you sell first and buy back afterwards, so you gain if the price has fallen. The risks are not mirror images: a long position can only fall to zero, while a price that keeps rising means a short seller owes more and more.

How can someone sell something they do not own?

They borrow it. The short seller arranges to borrow the shares from an existing holder, usually through a broker and for a fee, sells those borrowed shares on the market, and later buys equivalent shares to hand back. What they keep or lose is the difference between the two prices, minus the borrowing costs.

What is a short squeeze?

It is what happens when the price of a heavily shorted asset rises sharply and short sellers rush to buy it back to limit their losses. Their buying pushes the price up further, which forces still more of them to buy, and the effect feeds on itself.

What is the meaning of short selling?

"short selling" (noun) means the practice of selling shares or other assets that you have borrowed rather than own, with the intention of buying them back later and returning them; the seller gains if the price has fallen in between and loses if it has risen.

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