auction
Americannoun
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auctions
plural
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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)
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auctions,
present (3rd person singular)
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auctioned,
past participle, past
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auctioning
present participle
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
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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.
See Examples For:
On Monday, Belgium will conduct a bond auction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The football with which Diego Maradona scored his famous 'hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for £2.5m.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
On Thursday, the animal shelter held a silent auction among the four contenders who had come forward wanting to adopt him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Barry and Hunter said there is a risk the Treasury could now try to reduce long-end auction sizes, pointing to actions taken by other governments that haven’t met with stellar results.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
The codes arrived in my inbox a few minutes after the auction ended.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
“RRL in our view is telegraphing that M&A remains high on the agenda, and we believe is likely to be an active participant in any auctions of assets that come to market,” says the bank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Normally, Treasury auctions are routine financial events that play out in the background without much of a fuss.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
More recently, online auctions are "even better... fantastic" for travellers, he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Last week, the Treasury Department released its quarterly refunding announcement, which laid out the schedule of bond auctions that will be held to raise money for the government over the coming months.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Joe still traveled north to those auctions, and he usually drove back with his pickup full of junk.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
For now, the evidence points not to a real, roaming Cat in the Hat, but to a rapidly evolving online story built from an auctioned film costume, people in costume, AI-generated material and unverified posts.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
A Pacific island leader says there were "no consultations" before the US announced swathes of nearby ocean could be auctioned for deep-sea mining exploration, telling AFP the industry faced strong opposition among his people.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
One reason homes aren’t auctioned often on the site, he said, is that you have to promote them yourself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
During the ceremony, she successfully bid £16,000 for a pair of tickets to see Harry Styles in New York - then immediately returned her prize to be auctioned a second time.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
He auctioned off his roosters to the highest bidder, recruited men, bought tools, and set about the awesome task of breaking stones, digging canals, clearing away rapids, and even harnessing waterfalls.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
While they’ll be auctioning off five of the photos, they’re planning to keep two.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Government bond supply will be modest from the eurozone, with Germany selling 5 billion euros in April 2031 Bobl and Finland auctioning up to 1.5 billion euros in April 2030- and April 2041-dated bonds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
These sessions are part of free Living Well activities at the Pembury hospice, which plans to mark 10 years since the programme started by auctioning a piece of art made by participants.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
The bank has said it expects the process of auctioning the $563 million rent-regulated portfolio to conclude in early 2026, with a resolution to issues related to the debt during the first half of 2026.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 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.
