auction block

American

[awk-shuhn blok] / ˈɔk ʃən ˌblɒk /

noun

Also called block. a platform from which an auctioneer sells.

The auction block in front of the old courthouse was removed and placed in a slavery exhibit at the state museum.

idioms

put on the auction block, to offer for sale at auction; offer to sell to the highest bidder. Also put on the block.

Etymology

Origin of auction block

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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.

Warner Bros., a signature Hollywood studio for more than a century, is on the auction block.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

However, when the property ended up on the auction block, Spacey’s identity as its true owner was confirmed.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 27, 2025

The painting went on the auction block with an estimated price range of $40 million to $60 million.

From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025

His offers, backed by his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, pressured the board to put the company on the auction block earlier this week.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 25, 2025

I was so frightened, and at the mercy of so many conundrums, that inevitably, that summer, someone would have taken me over; one doesn’t, in Harlem, long remain standing on any auction block.

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023