special-offer

special-offer — noun

1. a company reduces the usual price of something for a short time to attract buyer

1.nounB1
Definition

a company reduces the usual price of something for a short time to attract buyers; also, the goods or services offered at this lower price

Example

Eve bought three bottles of olive oil when the supermarket had a special offer.

collocation: special offer on [product]

The store's special offer ended last night, so the dining table returned to full price.

collocation: special offer ended / expired

Common collocations
  • on special offer
  • special offer on something
  • special offer for [members / new customers]
  • take advantage of a special offer
  • a special offer ends / lasts / runs
Synonyms
  • discount

    focuses on the price reduction itself rather than the entire promotion

  • deal

    more informal and broader — can also cover bundled services or negotiated terms

  • promotion

    emphasises the marketing activity rather than just the lower price

  • sale

    usually refers to a temporary event with many items reduced, not necessarily a single product

Antonyms

Usage Note

Commonly found in advertising, retail signage, and email marketing. The phrase can refer either to the discounted item itself (countable: 'a special offer') or to the practice of discounting in general (uncountable: 'goods on special offer').

Common Mistakes

I got a special offer for a free gift.
I got a free gift with a special offer.
a special offer means a lower price, not something given for free.
There is a special offering on bread today.
There is a special offer on bread today.
'offering' is a different word meaning something presented as a gift or in a ceremony.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe ways to pay less, but they differ in scope and setting. A special offer is a time-limited price reduction on a specific product or service, often promoted by retailers ('this week's special offer'). A discount is any amount taken off the regular price, and can be ongoing or one-time ('student discount'). A sale is a larger event when many items are reduced across a store ('the summer sale'). A promotion is the broadest term, covering any marketing tactic — a discount, a gift with purchase, or a contest. A deal is informal and can mean a good price ('great deal'), a negotiated arrangement ('business deal'), or a package ('deal on flights + hotel'). Use special offer when you want to stress the limited-time, shop-initiated nature of the price cut.

special offerdiscount ↗sale ↗promotion ↗deal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • on special offer
  • take advantage of a special offer

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The phrase 'special offer' joins two old English words: 'special', from Latin 'specialis' (belonging to a particular kind), and 'offer', from Latin 'offerre' (to present or put forward). The expression became common in retail advertising during the mid-20th century, when shops began using time-limited price cuts as a regular sales tactic.