Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sell like hot cakes

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.80 in modern English

Syllables: sel-l- -like hot -cakes
IPA

29

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

5

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be sold quickly in large numbers or amounts.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"During a power outage, candles sell like hot cakes."
"You're living in a disco / Forget about the rat race / Let's do the Milkshake / Selling like a hotcake"
"Geffen employees confirm that about half of the initial run of forty-six thousand [copies of Nevermind] went to the Northwest, where it sold like hot cakes."
"These units will sell like hot cakes for $400000 apiece. Our cost will be $250000. It's a regular gold mine."
"CALENDARS featuring local men willing to get their kit off for charity are selling like hot cakes after hitting the market this week."
"I sold 12 trout specials yesterday, they sold like hot cakes."

Etymology

After the proverbial popularity of pancakes in 19th-century America.

Usage

Intransitive verb

Inflected Forms

sells like hot cakes (present, singular) selling like hot cakes (participle, present) sold like hot cakes (participle, past) sold like hot cakes (past)

Phrases

like hot cakes fly off the shelves

Frequently Paired Words

fly off the shelves

Questions

What does sell like hot cakes mean?: To be sold quickly in large numbers or amounts.
Where does sell like hot cakes come from?: After the proverbial popularity of pancakes in 19th-century America.

How to pronounce sell like hot cakes

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sell like hot cakes”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sell like hot cakes”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sell like hot cakes” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.