auction

[ awk-shuhn ]
See synonyms for auction on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also called public sale. a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.

  2. Cards.

    • (in bridge or certain other games) the competitive bidding to fix a contract that a player or players undertake to fulfill.

verb (used with object)
  1. to sell by auction (often followed by off): He auctioned off his furniture.

Origin of auction

1
1585–95; <Latin auctiōn- (stem of auctiō) an increase, especially in the bidding at a sale, equivalent to auct(us) increased, past participle of augēre (aug- increase + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn--ion

Other words from auction

  • auc·tion·a·ble, adjective
  • auc·tion·ar·y, adjective
  • pro·auc·tion, adjective
  • un·auc·tioned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use auction in a sentence

  • In the same year we meet for the first time, vendue masters and public auctions.

    A short history of Rhode Island | George Washington Greene
  • Two great evils came to light on the first institution of auctions; one was due to the buyers, and the other to the auctioneers.

    Prices of Books | Henry B. Wheatley
  • The frequenters of auctions seem to have been very jealous of being bid against by any one interested in the sale.

    Prices of Books | Henry B. Wheatley
  • If the question be asked, Is it better to pick up furniture at auctions or to buy it in shops?

  • There are auctions, you know, and people come from all over the world looking for a chance to buy the rarest pieces.

    A Reversible Santa Claus | Meredith Nicholson

British Dictionary definitions for auction

auction

/ (ˈɔːkʃən) /


noun
  1. a public sale of goods or property, esp one in which prospective purchasers bid against each other until the highest price is reached: Compare Dutch auction

  2. the competitive calls made in bridge and other games before play begins, undertaking to win a given number of tricks if a certain suit is trumps

verb
  1. (tr often foll by off) to sell by auction

Origin of auction

1
C16: from Latin auctiō an increasing, from augēre to increase

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012