Cell or sell?
cell is a noun meaning “A single-room dwelling for a hermit”; sell is a verb meaning “To transfer goods or provide services in exchange for money”. Use cell as a noun and sell as a verb (sell is also a noun: “An act of selling; sale”). They sound the same (/sɛl/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) sell is about as common as cell.
What is the difference between cell and sell?
| cell | sell | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | verb, noun |
| Meaning | A single-room dwelling for a hermit A small monastery or nunnery dependent on a larger religious establishment To place or enclose in a cell | To transfer goods or provide services in exchange for money To be sold An act of selling; sale |
| Example | Gregor Mendel must have spent a good amount of time outside of his cell | She sold her old car very quickly |
| Forms | cells | sells, selling, sold |
| Pronunciation | /sɛl/ | /sɛl/ |
| In writing | 74 times per million words | 95 times per million words |
Sources: cell and sell in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of cell and sell
cell
- 1
A single-room dwelling for a hermit
- 2
To place or enclose in a cell
- 3
AustraliaIndiaUSinformalA cellular phone
- 4
A small monastery or nunnery dependent on a larger religious establishment
- 5
A small room in a monastery or nunnery accommodating one person
Gregor Mendel must have spent a good amount of time outside of his cell
- 6
A room in a prison or jail for one or more inmates
The combatants spent the night in separate cells
- 7
Each of the small hexagonal compartments in a honeycomb
- 8
Any of various chambers in a tissue or organism having specific functions
sell
- 1
To transfer goods or provide services in exchange for money
She sold her old car very quickly
- 2
An act of selling; sale
- 3
To be sold
This old stock will never sell
- 4
The promotion of an idea for acceptance
This is going to be a tough sell
- 5
To promote (a product or service) although not being paid in any direct way or at all
- 6
An easy task
- 7
To promote (a particular viewpoint)
My boss is very old-fashioned and I'm having a lot of trouble selling the idea of working at home occasionally
- 8
colloquialdatedAn imposition, a cheat; a hoax; a disappointment; anything occasioning a loss of pride or dignity
What a sell for Lena!
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, cell or sell?
cell appears 74 times per million words; sell 95 times per million words.
cell 74 times per million wordssell 95 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).