variants
or up-sell
upsold
ˈəp-ˈsōld 
or up-sold; upselling or up-selling; upsells or up-sells
or up-sold; upselling or up-selling; upsells or up-sells
: to try to convince (a customer) to purchase something additional or at a higher cost
With a strong correlation between the amount of video consumed and the Internet speed that consumers think they need, providers could possibly upsell customers on costlier broadband packages.—
Makeda Easter
Makeda EasterThey start upselling you before you book your vacation by offering upgrades to a higher-class cabin …—Christopher Elliott
Christopher Elliott
upselling
noun
or up-selling
Counter clerks, paid on commission, are typically instructed to pitch more expensive cars, a tank of gas, a damage waiver … It's called "up-selling" in the trade, and can account for as much as 20% of the revenue of some car-rental companies …
—Joni James
Joni James
plural upsells
: an attempt to convince a customer to purchase something additional or more costly : the act or an instance of upselling
We passed on the products they had used during the massage, which were for sale. Almost every activity, it would turn out, ended with a gentle upsell.—Dan Saltzstein
Dan SaltzsteinI tend to avoid server upsells because I usually suspect they're trying to push a high margin or past-its-prime menu item.—Michael Nagrant
Michael NagrantExamples of upsell in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Charles Singh, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Cut Down On Time Spent Managing Your CRM In one solution, AI has fundamentally changed selling by leveraging past transaction data to understand risks of churn and opportunities to upsell and cross-sell products to customers.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Jon Jacobson, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Integrate Upsells And Cross-Sells Seamlessly One distinct pain point is driving effective upsells and cross-sells.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for upsell
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Verb
CarMax and the future of car buying When consumers purchase a new vehicle at an auto dealer, they can be confronted by salesmen looking to upsell unnecessary warranties, accessories, and additional packages that increase the total cost of a vehicle.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Cut Down On Time Spent Managing Your CRM In one solution, AI has fundamentally changed selling by leveraging past transaction data to understand risks of churn and opportunities to upsell and cross-sell products to customers.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
This helps pet insurers track lifestyle changes, refine pricing and underwriting using real-world behavior and identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities continuously.
—Jon Jacobson, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Integrate Upsells And Cross-Sells Seamlessly One distinct pain point is driving effective upsells and cross-sells.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for upsell
Cite this Entry
“Upsell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upsell. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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