auction
Americannoun
-
auctions
plural
-
Also called public sale. a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.
-
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)
-
auctions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
auctioned,
past participle, past
-
auctioning
present participle
noun
-
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
-
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
-
See auction bridge
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
auctionsimple
-
auctionssimple
-
have auctionedperfect
-
has auctionedperfect
-
am auctioningprogressive
-
are auctioningprogressive
-
is auctioningprogressive
-
have been auctioningperfect progressive
-
has been auctioningperfect progressive
Past
-
auctionedsimple
-
had auctionedperfect
-
was auctioningprogressive
-
were auctioningprogressive
-
had been auctioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of auction
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
Explanation
In an auction, items are sold without price tags — whoever bids the highest gets to buy it, whether it’s a painting, a car, or a set of old dishes. You can hold an auction, or auction something. You might have seen auction scenes in classy old movies where the characters bid on paintings by politely raising their hands as the auctioneer calls out a price. Auctions aren’t always high-fallutin’, though — many cities auction off cars they’ve confiscated from criminals.
Vocabulary lists containing auction
Unit 1: Telling Details
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for March 19–March 25, 2022
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Mockingbird
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Treasury yields fell from fresh intraday highs as an auction of $39 billion in 10-year notes clears at the highest yield in 26 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
So, a 30-year auction is the one place where the question is not what price, but who shows up,” Ahn said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
And for the LSE, the auction was the latest test as it seeks to expand the appeal of its private securities market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A strong auction could calm markets more, while weak previous auctions of long-end bonds have been prone to sparking fresh rounds of selling in global sovereign-debt markets, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The auction letter is on top, and under it are a notice of sale of tax-defaulted property, a notice to parties of interest, redemption amounts, rights of parties of interest after sale...
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
But weak previous auctions of long-end bonds have been prone to sparking fresh rounds of selling in global sovereign-debt markets, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The force said any money raised from the auctions was split between the force and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and said some cash went to "local good causes".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
The states aim to launch the first joint auctions in 2027.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
However, the bank also said it would pause auctions of its bonds until April while it reviews a model of selling them to the government.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Others in the community—including prominent settlers like Hale and Mathis, the Big Hill Trading Company owner—took a keen interest in the auctions.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
On Wednesday, the 10-year Treasury yield surged as high as 5.364% before the government auctioned $39 billion of 10-year notes.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Treasury on Tuesday auctioned $69 billion in two-year notes paying the highest yield in more than two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Princess Diana's famous "revenge dress" that she wore on the evening that then-Prince Charles made a public admission of adultery is to be auctioned in New York in December.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Now they are auctioned before they are opened rather than after, so bidders don’t know what they are getting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The mews are all but emptied now, The great birds auctioned, one by one — One single sparrowhawk is left: The one tamed by the falconer’s son.
From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz
Treasury is auctioning $19 billion in 10-year Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
It has said on its website it intends to begin auctioning the 5.79 terabytes of data it was able to steal from Berlin in seven days' time, according to news agency Reuters.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The company also didn’t obtain a court order before selling or auctioning the vehicles, the lawsuit alleges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Meanwhile, terrestrial carriers are looking to fight back and the Federal Communications Commission is auctioning more spectrum, too.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
I earned a decent amount of money each month by selling commercial time on my POV channel and by auctioning off any unneeded magic items, armor, or weapons I acquired during my travels.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
