auction

American  

[awk-shuhn] / ˈɔk ʃən /

noun

1. Also called public sale.  a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.

2. Cards.

   1. auction bridge.

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

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verb (used with object)

1. to sell by auction (often followed byoff ).

   He auctioned off his furniture.

auction British  

/ 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

3. See auction bridge

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verb

1. to sell by auction

Other Word Forms

• auctionable
  adjective
• auctionary
  adjective
• proauction
  adjective
• unauctioned
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

In 2004, Google famously tried a Dutch auction as a way to push back against what it viewed as the clubby world of bankers allocating stock to the largest institutions and wealthiest clients.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

Crowley had tried to sell the statues to Sotheby's auction house in London between November 2022 and July 2023.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

Drake’s always been a bully, throwing stones from his frigid fortress of solitude and hiding his hand in a diamond-encrusted glove he won at auction.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

“What I am looking out for is the mistakes, and the stupidity, of other dealers and auction houses,” he told the New Yorker in 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

The teenage boy purchased by Washington at auction fourteen years earlier was now a man of about thirty.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Related Words

• sell-off