short sale is the sale of security that is not owned by the seller. The seller borrows the security, sells it, and then buys it at a later date to return it to the lender. The purpose of a short sale is to attempt to profit from the fall in the price of a security. Short sales are considered trading activities. For banks, when the security that is sold is "borrowed" from the seller's investment portfolio, the transaction is not considered a short sale; it must be treated as an outright sale of the underlying security.
Barry Goldsmith
| APA | Barry Goldsmith. (2010). short sale. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/short_sale/definitions/1163501 |
| Chicago | Barry Goldsmith. 2010. "short sale" http://smartdefine.org/short_sale/definitions/1163501 (accessed September 28, 2026). |
| Harvard | Barry Goldsmith 2010, short sale, Smart Define, viewed 28 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/short_sale/definitions/1163501>. |
| MLA | Barry Goldsmith. "short sale" 21 October 2010. Web. 28 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/short_sale/definitions/1163501> |