sell short

present singular third person sells short · participle present selling short · participle past sold short · past sold short · alternative short sell · alternative short-sell · alternative short

1. transitivebusinessTo engage in the process of short selling (selling a stock one does not own on the premise of the stock's price going down).

   George Soros famously did this in 1992—selling short some ten billion dollars’ worth of sterling. A few years ago, John Paulson wagered hugely against U.S. mortgage bonds and made several billion dollars.

   2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN

2. reflexivesometimestransitiveTo underestimate the value of something; to understate its value.

   Near-synonym: undersell

   1 more example

   You're selling it short by not mentioning its bonus features.

   Synonyms: underprice, understate, misunderestimate, underapproximate, underestimate, underguess, underjudge, underrate · Antonyms: overstate, overvalue, overapproximate, overestimate, overhold, overrate, overreckon, overstate