salable

IPA/ˈseɪləbl/
KK[sˈeləbəl]IPA/ˈseɪləbl/

salable — adjective

  • salablepositive
  • more salablecomparative
  • most salablesuperlative

1. describing a product or item that customers are willing to buy, often because th

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a product or item that customers are willing to buy, often because the quality, price, or presentation meets their needs.

Example

Sumin's new kitchen gadget proved highly salable after a major online store featured it.

adverb: highly salable

Mark could not believe how salable his handmade leather bags were at the weekend market.

Common collocations
  • highly salable
  • very salable
  • more salable
  • salable product
  • salable goods
  • salable item
  • prove salable
  • become salable
  • make something salable
Synonyms
  • marketable

    broader — includes any product that can be effectively advertised or promoted, not just sold

  • sellable

    more informal and general — simply means something can be sold, without implying it will sell easily

  • merchantable

    formal legal term for goods that meet basic quality standards for sale; rarely used in everyday speech

Antonyms
  • unsalable

    direct opposite — cannot be sold under normal conditions

  • unmarketable

    not suitable for promotion or sale

Grammar Patterns

be + salable

salable + noun

Usage Note

Commonly used in business and marketing contexts. Frequently paired with adverbs like 'highly', 'very', or 'more'. Attributive use (a salable product) is as common as predicative use (the product is salable).

Common Mistakes

This broken phone is still salable.
This broken phone is not salable anymore.
'salable' usually implies the item is in good enough condition or has enough appeal for someone to buy it; a broken item would typically be described as unsalable.
The idea itself was very salable at the conference.
The idea itself was very popular at the conference.
'salable' describes products or goods, not abstract ideas, in most everyday contexts.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe products that can be sold, but they differ in scope and register. 'Marketable' is the broadest — it focuses on whether a product can be promoted to a target audience (as in 'a marketable skill') and includes advertising appeal, not just saleability. 'Sellable' is more informal and direct: something that a shop can put on a shelf and exchange for money, without implying strong demand. 'Merchantable' is a legal term meaning goods meet basic quality standards under a sales contract; it is rarely heard in everyday conversation. For example, a hand-knitted scarf with loose threads may be 'sellable' at a charity stall but not 'merchantable' under a wholesale agreement.

marketable ↗sellablemerchantable ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Etymology

Old NorseMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed from the noun 'sale' (from Old Norse 'sala', meaning a selling or delivery of goods) plus the suffix '-able' (meaning 'capable of being'). The word entered English in the early 1500s and has been used in commerce ever since to describe goods that customers will readily purchase.

First known use

1530

1530, in the meaning defined above