auction
Americannoun
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Also called public sale. a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.
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Cards.
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(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)
noun
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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
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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
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See auction bridge
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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auctionsimple
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auctionssimple
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have auctionedperfect
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has auctionedperfect
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am auctioningprogressive
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are auctioningprogressive
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is auctioningprogressive
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have been auctioningperfect progressive
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has been auctioningperfect progressive
Past
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auctionedsimple
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had auctionedperfect
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was auctioningprogressive
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were auctioningprogressive
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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
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Mockingbird
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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.
Among the lots, a letter mentioning the death of author CS Lewis and a signed copy of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil sold at Sotheby's auction house in London for £20,480.
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026
“This should be supportive, so we expect the auction to clear smoothly,” the junior analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026
The Treasury will announce the result of its $22 billion 30-year bond auction at 1 p.m.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 9, 2026
The Treasury will auction $58 billion in 3-year notes.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 7, 2026
They swarm around my framed art, hovering at the wall like bees, making bids for the silent auction and walking away, then coming back again to see if anyone else has made a bid.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
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.
