Profiting from an anticipated drop in the price of a commodity, financial instrument, or stock by (1) borrowing and selling it now, or by (2) selling a firm promise (as in a futures contract) to deliver it on a later date at the current (or a specified) price. In either case, the seller counts on buying the item at a cheaper price to return (with a fee) or deliver it. A short seller is considered a “bear” because the short seller is expecting the price to drop, so is selling something now to buy it back cheaper at a later date. Also called short selling.
see also
short seller
