Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sell

“sell” is pronounced /sɛl/ (SEL) — one syllable.
The sound

Say “sell” in one beat

Say it like this

sell

/sɛl/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. sellsɛl
IPA (American)
/sɛl/
IPA (British)
/sɛl/
Respelling
SEL
Syllables
1 — sell
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /sɛl/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Meaning

What “sell” means

  1. noun

    the activity of persuading someone to buy

    it was a hard sell

  2. verb

    exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent

    He sold his house in January

  3. verb

    be sold at a certain price or in a certain way

    These books sell like hot cakes

Say it in a sentence

They decided to sell the old car before moving.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

sell”, answered

How do you pronounce “sell”?

“sell” is pronounced /sɛl/ (SEL) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /sɛl/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “sell” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /sɛl/ — a single beat.

What does “sell” mean?

As a noun: the activity of persuading someone to buy For example: “it was a hard sell” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “sell”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /sɛl/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “sell” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.