"sell one's soul" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "From the medieval legend of Faust, who made a contract with the devil, exchanging his soul for worldly gains.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sells one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "selling one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sold one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sold one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sell<,,sold> one's soul"
      },
      "expansion": "sell one's soul (third-person singular simple present sells one's soul, present participle selling one's soul, simple past and past participle sold one's soul)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English predicates",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005 June 29, Desa Philadelphia, “Crunk: Hip-Hop's Got a New Accent”, in Time, archived from the original on 2012-09-05",
          "text": "After all, the South is where jazz and blues were invented. Where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil so he could play the licks that would become rock 'n' roll.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 April 2, Sarfraz Manzoor, quoting Suzi Ronson, “‘Bowie said he’d sell his soul to be famous’: Suzi Ronson on sex, ruthless ambition – and dyeing David’s hair red”, in The Guardian, →ISSN",
          "text": "“David used to say he would sell his soul to be famous,” she says. “But he was also otherworldly – and you couldn’t take your eyes off him.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To abandon one's spiritual values or moral principles for wealth or other benefits."
      ],
      "id": "en-sell_one's_soul-en-verb-Ou2IlGWM",
      "links": [
        [
          "abandon",
          "abandon"
        ],
        [
          "spiritual",
          "spiritual"
        ],
        [
          "moral",
          "moral"
        ],
        [
          "wealth",
          "wealth"
        ],
        [
          "benefit",
          "benefit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To abandon one's spiritual values or moral principles for wealth or other benefits."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "Faustian bargain"
        },
        {
          "word": "sell one's birthright for a mess of pottage"
        },
        {
          "word": "sell one's own grandmother"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "sell one's soul to the devil"
        },
        {
          "word": "sell one's soul to the Devil"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
          "word": "myydä sielunsa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
          "word": "vendre son âme au diable"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "sprzedać własną matkę"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "prodátʹ dúšu",
          "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "прода́ть ду́шу"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
          "word": "reic anam ris an Donas"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-sell one's soul.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/de/En-au-sell_one%27s_soul.ogg/En-au-sell_one%27s_soul.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/En-au-sell_one%27s_soul.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "sell one's soul"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "From the medieval legend of Faust, who made a contract with the devil, exchanging his soul for worldly gains.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sells one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "selling one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sold one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sold one's soul",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sell<,,sold> one's soul"
      },
      "expansion": "sell one's soul (third-person singular simple present sells one's soul, present participle selling one's soul, simple past and past participle sold one's soul)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "Faustian bargain"
    },
    {
      "word": "sell one's birthright for a mess of pottage"
    },
    {
      "word": "sell one's own grandmother"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English predicates",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005 June 29, Desa Philadelphia, “Crunk: Hip-Hop's Got a New Accent”, in Time, archived from the original on 2012-09-05",
          "text": "After all, the South is where jazz and blues were invented. Where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil so he could play the licks that would become rock 'n' roll.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 April 2, Sarfraz Manzoor, quoting Suzi Ronson, “‘Bowie said he’d sell his soul to be famous’: Suzi Ronson on sex, ruthless ambition – and dyeing David’s hair red”, in The Guardian, →ISSN",
          "text": "“David used to say he would sell his soul to be famous,” she says. “But he was also otherworldly – and you couldn’t take your eyes off him.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To abandon one's spiritual values or moral principles for wealth or other benefits."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "abandon",
          "abandon"
        ],
        [
          "spiritual",
          "spiritual"
        ],
        [
          "moral",
          "moral"
        ],
        [
          "wealth",
          "wealth"
        ],
        [
          "benefit",
          "benefit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To abandon one's spiritual values or moral principles for wealth or other benefits."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "sell one's soul to the devil"
        },
        {
          "word": "sell one's soul to the Devil"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-sell one's soul.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/de/En-au-sell_one%27s_soul.ogg/En-au-sell_one%27s_soul.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/En-au-sell_one%27s_soul.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
      "word": "myydä sielunsa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
      "word": "vendre son âme au diable"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "sprzedać własną matkę"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "prodátʹ dúšu",
      "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "прода́ть ду́шу"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "to abandon one's values or principles for other benefits",
      "word": "reic anam ris an Donas"
    }
  ],
  "word": "sell one's soul"
}