Word.ws English Dictionary

sells down the river

sells down the river is the third-person singular simple present indicative of sell down the river.

Meaning of sell down the river

Verb

sell down the river (third-person singular simple present sells down the river, present participle selling down the river, simple past and past participle sold down the river)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To betray, especially in a manner which causes serious difficulty for the one betrayed.
    • [T]he Prime Minister was listened to with respect when he replied to Opposition hints that Ethiopia was being sold down the river because Britain was afraid she or her ships might suddenly be attacked by Italian airmen.1935 December 23, “Great Britain: Vampire's Caress”, in Time

Questions about sells down the river

What is sells down the river the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Sells down the river is the third-person singular simple present indicative of sell down the river.

Words near sells down the river in the dictionary

  1. sells by the candle
  2. sells coal to Newcastle
  3. sells coals to Newcastle
  4. sells dearly
  5. sells down
  6. sells down the river
  7. sells freezers to Eskimos
  8. sells ice to Eskimos
  9. sells like hot cakes
  10. sells off
  11. sells on

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sells down the river (page history and authors); sell down the river (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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