fire sale: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2Business, Financial, Informal, Figurative
Quick answer
What does “fire sale” mean?
A sale of goods at very low prices, especially because a business has been damaged by fire or is in financial distress and needs to sell quickly.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A sale of goods at very low prices, especially because a business has been damaged by fire or is in financial distress and needs to sell quickly.
Any situation where assets or goods are sold quickly and cheaply, often under pressure or duress, such as during a financial crisis or market panic.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in definition or usage. Both use the term literally and figuratively.
Connotations
Identical connotations of distress, urgency, and steep discounting.
Frequency
Equally common in business and financial contexts in both varieties.
Grammar
How to Use “fire sale” in a Sentence
[business/company] held a fire sale on [goods/assets][event/crisis] triggered a fire sale of [asset class]to sell [something] in a fire saleVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “fire sale” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The administrators were forced to fire-sale the company's assets.
- They're fire-selling the entire portfolio.
American English
- The hedge fund had to fire-sale its holdings to meet redemptions.
- The retailer is fire-selling last season's stock.
adverb
British English
- The goods were sold fire-sale cheap.
- Shares were trading fire-sale low.
American English
- He bought the collection fire-sale cheap.
- The bonds were priced fire-sale low.
adjective
British English
- They got the car at a fire-sale price.
- The market was in a fire-sale condition.
American English
- Investors are looking for fire-sale assets.
- We bought the property under fire-sale terms.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
A store damaged by smoke held a fire sale to clear its inventory.
Academic
The 2008 crisis created fire-sale conditions in the housing market, depressing prices further.
Everyday
My local shop is having a fire sale – everything is half price!
Technical
Fire sale externalities occur when one firm's distressed selling depresses asset prices for others.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “fire sale”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “fire sale”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “fire sale”
- Using it to describe any good discount sale (requires an element of distress/urgency).
- Confusing it with a 'garage sale' or 'car boot sale' (which are planned).
- Misspelling as 'fire sail'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, not anymore. While it originated from sales after literal fires, today it is almost always used figuratively to describe any distressed, urgent sale at very low prices.
Yes, especially in business/finance contexts (e.g., 'to fire-sale assets'). This is a conversion from the noun, more common in US English but understood in UK English.
A fire sale implies an element of duress, emergency, or financial pressure forcing the seller to accept very low prices. A normal sale is planned and aims for profit, even if discounted.
It is negative from the seller's perspective (loss, distress) but can be seen positively by buyers (opportunity to buy cheaply). Context defines the connotation.
A sale of goods at very low prices, especially because a business has been damaged by fire or is in financial distress and needs to sell quickly.
Fire sale is usually business, financial, informal, figurative in register.
Fire sale: in British English it is pronounced /ˈfaɪə ˌseɪl/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈfaɪɚ ˌseɪl/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Everything must go!”
- “Selling like hotcakes (ironic in this context)”
- “Going for a song”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a shop ON FIRE; they're not worried about profit, just getting rid of goods fast. So, a 'fire sale' means selling fast and cheap.
Conceptual Metaphor
FINANCIAL DISTRESS IS A PHYSICAL DISASTER (like a fire).
Practice
Quiz
In financial journalism, 'fire sale' most precisely describes: