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

The work, bought by an anonymous U.S. collector bidding over the telephone, met its high estimate and now ranks as the artist’s third-highest price at auction.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

And Flat 36, which first sold for £189,950, is now at auction with a sale price of just £9,000.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

“Girl With Balloon on Found Landscape” sold for $18 million at a Manhattan auction, signaling renewed demand for the once-anonymous street artist.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

Bought for $236.4 million, "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt became the second most expensive work ever sold at auction.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

We had already spent the morning at an auction, where she bought up exotic trinkets to use in her charade as Madam L. L. Lucille.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Related Words

• sell-off